Rising Storm
by Twisterheart
Summary: After the death of Firestar, Bramblestar was left as the new ThunderClan leader. Prey is scarce, and tensions with the other Clans are higher than ever. A deadly storm is rising in the horizon, one like the Clans have never seen before. Will they survive, or will this storm completely wipe out the Clans as we know?
1. Allegiances

**This story will contain some spoilers for 'Bramblestar's Storm'. **

**After reading Bramblestar's Storm, I couldn't help but be disappointed. The book was alright, but it just wasn't what I was expecting. The summary said this storm would be something that the Clans might not live through, but in reality only a few cats died from it. I was also quite disappointed at all the smaller 'sub-plots'. I feel the badgers and the kittypets were completely unnecessary, as well as the prophecy about Bramblestar and Tawnypelt. So, I decided to write my own version of the story with much more tragedy, adventure, and much more! This story will contain some spoilers, but for the most part it's an entirely different story. I hope you all enjoy!**

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**ALLEGIANCES**

**ThunderClan**

**Leader:** Bramblestar - dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

**Deputy:** Squirrelflight - dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

**Medicine Cat:** Jayfeather - gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes

Leafpool - light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

**Warriors: (Toms and she-cats without kits)**

Brackenfur - golden brown tabby tom

Brightheart - white she-cat with ginger patches

Birchfall - light brown tabby tom

Millie - striped gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Spiderleg - long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes

**Apprentice:** Amberpaw

Thornclaw - golden brown tabby tom

Whitewing - white she-cat with green eyes

**Apprentice:** Dewpaw

Berrynose - cream colored tom

Mousewhisker - gray and white tom

Ivypool - silver-and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes

**Apprentice:** Snowpaw

Lionblaze - golden tabby tom with amber eyes

Dovewing - pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

Rosepetal - dark cream she-cat

Poppyfrost - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

**Apprentice:** Lilypaw

Briarlight - dark brown she-cat

Blossomfall - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

Bumblestripe - very pale gray tom with black stripes

**Apprentice:** Seedpaw

Cherryfall - ginger she-cat

Molewhisker - brown and cream tom

**Apprentices: (Cats older than six moons in training to become warriors)**

Amberpaw - pale ginger she-cat

Dewpaw - gray and white tom

Snowpaw - fluffy white tom

Lilypaw - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

Seedpaw - golden brown tabby she-cat

**Queens: (She-cats expecting or nursing kits)**

Daisy - long-furred cream she-cat

Cinderheart - gray tabby she-cat expecting Lionblaze's kits.

**Elders: (Warriors and queens now retired)**

Graystripe - long haired gray tom

Sandstorm - pale ginger she-cat with green eyes

Dustpelt - dark brown tabby tom

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**ShadowClan**

**Leader:** Blackstar - large white tom with jet black paws

**Deputy:** Rowanclaw - ginger tom

**Medicine Cat:** Littlecloud - very small brown tabby tom

**Warriors: (Toms and she-cats without kits)**

Crowfrost - black-and-white tom

Tawnypelt - tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

**Apprentice:** Grasspaw

Owlclaw - light brown tabby tom

Scorchfur - dark gray tom

Tigerheart - dark brown tabby tom

Ferretclaw - black-and-gray tom

**Apprentice:** Spikepaw

Pinenose - black she-cat

Stoatfur - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

**Apprentices: (Cats older than six moons in training to become warriors)**

Grasspaw - pale brown tabby she-cat

Spikepaw - dark brown tom

**Queens: (She-cats expecting or nursing kits)**

Snowbird - pure white she-cat

Dawnpelt - cream-furred she-cat expecting Crowfrost's kits.

**Elders: (Warriors and queens now retired) **

Snaketail - dark brown tom with tabby striped tail

Whitewater - white she-cat with long fur, blind in one eye

Ratscar - brown tom with long scar across his back

Oakfur - small brown tom

Smokefoot - black tom

Kinkfur - tabby she-cat with long fur that sticks out in all directions

Ivytail - black, white, tortoiseshell she-cat

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**WindClan**

**Leader:** Onestar - brown tabby tom

**Deputy:** Harespring - brown-and-white tom

** Apprentice:** Slightpaw

**Medicine Cat:** Kestrelflight - mottled gray tom

**Warriors: (Toms and she-cats without kits)**

Crowfeather - dark gray tom

**Apprentice:** Featherpaw

Nightcloud - black she-cat

**Apprentice:** Hootpaw

Gorsetail - very pale gray-and-white tom with blue eyes

Weaselfur - ginger tom with white patches

Leaftail - dark tabby tom with amber eyes

**Apprentice:** Oatpaw

Emberfoot - gray tom with two dark paws

Heathertail - light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Furzepelt - gray-and-white she-cat

Crouchfoot - ginger tom

Larkwing - pale brown tabby she-cat

**Apprentices: (Cats older than six moons in training to become warriors)**

Slightpaw - black tom with a flash of white on his chest

Featherpaw - gray tabby she-cat

Hootpaw - dark gray tom

Oatpaw - pale brown tabby tom

**Queens: (She-cats expecting or nursing kits)**

Sedgewhisker - light brown tabby she-cat expecting Emberfoot's kits

**Elders: (Warriors and queens now retired)**

Whiskernose - light brown tom

Whitetail - small white she-cat

* * *

**RiverClan**

**Leader:** Mistystar - blue-gray she-cat with blue eyes

**Deputy:** Reedwhisker - black tom

**Apprentice:** Lizardpaw

**Medicine Cat:** Mothwing - dappled golden she-cat

**Apprentice:** Willowshine - gray tabby she-cat

**Warriors: (Toms and she-cats without kits)**

Mintfur - light gray tabby tom

Minnowtail - dark gray she-cat

Mallownose - light brown tabby tom

**Apprentice:** Havenpaw

Grasspelt - light brown tom

Duskfur - brown tabby she-cat

Mosspelt - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

**Apprentice:** Perchpaw

Shimmerpelt - silver she-cat

Lakeheart - gray tabby she-cat

Heronwing - dark gray-and-black tom

**Apprentices: (Cats older than six moons in training to become warriors)**

Lizardpaw - light brown tom

Havenpaw - black-and-white she-cat

Perchpaw - gray-and-white she-cat

**Queens: (She-cats expecting or nursing kits)**

Icewing - white she-cat with blue eyes

Petalfur - gray-and-white she-cat

**Elders: (Warriors and queens now retired)**

Pouncetail - ginger-and-white tom

Pebblefoot - mottled gray tom

Rushtail - light brown tabby she-cat

* * *

**Cats Outside the Clans**

Smokey - muscular gray-and-white tom

Coriander - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

Jessy - brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Frankie - small gray tabby tom with blue eyes


	2. Prologue

**Prologue**

A gentle rain fell from the dark sky, splashing the red rocks of the gorge. Mist swirled in the air, making it hard to see.

In the distance, a small group of feral cats trudged across the land, crying out in pain and fear. The group was extremely small and they looked starved.

A she-cat watched the group closely, unsure of what to do. They hardly looked like a threat, but she was still unsure. She slowly got up and carefully made her way closer to the cats.

They were now at the edge of the gorge, slowly making their way down the rocky cliffs. The she-cat winced several times as she thought she saw one of them slip. Finally, the group made it to safety. They slowly started to walk to the river that ran through the middle of the large red gorge.

The she-cat rose from her spot behind a boulder and cautiously made her way towards them. As she got closer, their pelts and faces blurred together and she couldn't make out what they were saying.

Suddenly the she-cat jolted awake. She blinked a few times to calm herself down, and then sat up and quickly washed her pelt. The dream lingered fresh in her memory. She quickly walked out of her den and climbed the side of the gorge and made her way to Outlook Rock. Sighing, she settled down in a warm patch of sunlight and purred as the warmth spread across her pelt.

The she-cat looked out across the gorge, smiling at its beauty. She then narrowed her eyes, trying to see if she could spot any newcomers. _What am I doing?_ She questioned herself. _It was just a dream which meant nothing._ But no matter how much she tried to convince herself of this, she still felt a lingering feeling that something was wrong, but she couldn't place what it was.

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**I know the prologue was very short, but I wanted to try and keep as much as I could a surprise. Hopefully I haven't given too much away! Anyways, please review if you liked this story! **

**Thank you for reading.**


	3. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Bramblestar pelted through the forest as fast as he could. Behind him he could hear Lionblaze and Rosepetal running behind him as they struggled to catch up with the ShadowClan invaders.

Up ahead, Bramblestar could just make out the light brown pelt of Owlclaw as the ShadowClan tom ran through ThunderClan's territory with a vole in his jaws. "We've almost got him!" the dark brown tom yowled back at his Clan mates.

When he was close enough to Owlclaw, Lionblaze took a flying leap and landed right on top of the ShadowClan warrior and ripped the prey right out of his mouth. Owlclaw hissed at Lionblaze and raked his long claws down the golden warrior's side, pulling a clump of golden fur out. Rosepetal screeched and leaped into the fight, and the three cats wrestled on the ground.

As Bramblestar made his way over to Owlclaw, something heavy crashed into his side and knocked him to the ground. As he looked up, he saw Rowanclaw's dark green eyes staring into his amber ones.

"You're in ThunderClan territory!" Bramblestar spat, trying to wriggle free.

"This will be ShadowClan territory once we're done here!" Rowanclaw growled, clawing Bramblestar's muzzle.

"Never!" Bramblestar hissed. He kicked up with his back legs and shoved Rowanclaw off of him. Rowanclaw dived for Bramblestar and the two toms tussled in the undergrowth. Bramblestar's muzzle stung where Rowanclaw had struck him earlier, and he noticed that blood was welling on a scratch he had given to the ShadowClan deputy's shoulder.

Another cat's claws dug into his tabby pelt and he looked behind him to see Pinenose glaring at him with anger in her eyes. The ShadowClan she-cat jumped on Bramblestar's back and threw him to the ground while Rowanclaw bit down on his back legs.

The forest was now filled with ShadowClan warriors as they attacked the three ThunderClan cats. Lionblaze was wrestling with Owlclaw and Stoatfur, while Rosepetal was locked in battle with Crowfrost. _We're never going to win this, _Bramblestar realized.

"Retreat!" Bramblestar yowled as soon as he managed to get free from the ShadowClan cat's grip. Lionblaze pulled free from Owlclaw and quickly limped into the undergrowth. Rosepetal slowly stood up off the ground and followed Lionblaze and Bramblestar as they returned home, bloody and beaten.

Just behind them Bramblestar could hear the ShadowClan cats letting out triumphant cheers.

After a few minutes of silence, Lionblaze let out an angry hiss, "We could have won if you had just let us fight a little longer!" he growled, staring at Bramblestar angrily. Wounds covered Lionblaze's body and Bramblestar could see blood running down the side of his face.

"We were out numbered, Lionblaze," Bramblestar replied as he led the way back home.

"I could have fought them off," Lionblaze muttered.

"How? You don't have your powers anymore, remember? You would have gotten yourself killed. Cinderheart and your unborn kits need you, Lionblaze," Rosepetal spoke up.

Lionblaze just shrugged, not knowing how to answer. "We needed that prey."

Bramblestar just sighed. He wished that there was something he could do but sadly there was no way for him to bring prey back to the forest. Ever since the Great Battle, tensions had been high among the Clans. Leafbare was harsh, and prey was scarcer than ever. Every Clan had been struggling to survive and find enough to feed their Clan, and in the end some of the cats had resorted to prey theft.

Soon the camp came into sight. Bramblestar let Rosepetal and Lionblaze go ahead of him. "Go see Jayfeather and Leafpool right away," he ordered them. Turning away from them he started to walk towards his den to get a quick nap.

"What happened?" a surprised voice called out, stopping him in his tracks. Bramblestar turned his head to see Squirrelflight rushing towards him with worry sparkling in her green eyes.

"We were ambushed by ShadowClan."

"What?! Where?" Squirrelflight wondered.

"Near the river. Lionblaze, Rosepetal and I were out on patrol when Lionblaze saw Owlclaw hunting in the heart of our territory. We tried to chase him out of the territory but when we got close to the border a patrol led by Rowanclaw jumped out and attacked. We were way too exhausted and outnumbered to chase them off, and now Rowanclaw says that ShadowClan is claiming that part of our territory as ShadowClan's," he explained sadly.

"They can't do that though! Stealing prey is against the warrior code. Should I organize a patrol to go out and chase them off?" Squirrelflight offered.

Bramblestar sighed. "Well, they're doing it anyways and they've been doing so for moons. And yeah, that would be great. Just be sure you bring plenty of cats with you. I don't want anything to happen to you." Bramblestar's face grew warm as he realized what he had said. He and Squirrelflight still were apart, but he couldn't deny that he still had feelings for her. He had desperately wanted to be with her again, but due to the constant conflict and issues his Clan had been facing lately, getting back with Squirrelflight was his least priority - at least for now.

"I will," Squirrelflight promised. Bramblestar could see that her green eyes were sparkling with amusement. _She must have noticed,_ he thought. Before he could say anything, his deputy started talking again, "I want you to go see Leafpool about those wounds, Bramblestar."

"These? Oh they're nothing." He shrugged her off.

"They could get infected!" Squirrelflight began to nudge him away from his den and towards the medicine cat's den.

"All right, all right. I'm going," he purred.

Squirrelflight let out a purr of approval. "Good."

As Bramblestar padded into the medicine cat's den he could hear Squirrelflight gathering up cats to go patrol the ShadowClan border. _I knew I made the right choice when I picked her as my deputy. She'll make a fine leader one day._

"Hey, Bramblestar," Leafpool greeted, shaking him from his thoughts. "Are you here to have your wounds checked? Rosepetal told us what happened with ShadowClan."

The dark brown tom nodded. "Yeah. Rowanclaw gave me a really nasty cut on my muzzle. It still stings like crazy."

"Jayfeather, bring me some dock and cobwebs please. And while you're at it, can you see if the wound is starting to infect?" Leafpool called to him.

Jayfeather turned away from where he was tending to one of Lionblaze's wounds and he quickly gathered up the herbs Leafpool had requested. The blind gray tabby hurried over and dropped the herbs at Leafpool's paws, and then he padded over to Bramblestar to sniff at his wounds. "It's not infected," he told Leafpool.

Leafpool nodded happily. "That's good. Thank you Jayfeather!" She gave her son a pleased look before chewing up the dock and applying it to Bramblestar's wounds. After the battle, Jayfeather had asked Leafpool to return back to her medicine cat duties and ever since the two had been working together. Bramblestar could tell that Leafpool felt more at home working with herbs than she did hunting with the warriors.

Bramblestar winced as the healing herb stung his wound.

"Sorry. The stinging will go away in a little bit," Leafpool told him. "There. Now I just need to put some cobweb on," she whispered to herself. Bramblestar felt something sticky being pressed to his face.

"All done." Leafpool smiled. "You three are all cleaned up. Come back every day for some more herbs. I know it can be a pain, but it'll keep the infection down, and trust me, you do not want an infection!"

"Thanks." Bramblestar dipped his head to his medicine cat's before padding out of the den.

_Finally I can go get some rest,_ he thought.

Bramblestar climbed up the High Ledge and padded into the cave that made his den. Bramblestar settled down in the moss and bracken and shut his eyes to take a nap, and soon he was fast asleep.

* * *

"Um, Bramblestar? Can I come in?"

Bramblestar lifted his head and blinked a few times. He looked at the entrance of his den and noticed Whitewing standing there.

"Yeah, come in." He yawned.

Whitewing padded into the den and sat down a few steps from his nest. Bramblestar immediately noticed something was wrong. "Did something happen?" he asked her.

"Well... sort of," Whitewing meowed awkwardly, shuffling her paws in the sand.

"Is it ShadowClan?" Bramblestar asked, jumping to his paws.

"Yes and no...it's a lot of things actually. Okay, I'm just going to come out and say it! Bramblestar...I'm not sure if I want to stay in ThunderClan anymore," Whitewing blurted. The white she-cat looked down at her paws and Bramblestar could smell fear scent coming off her in waves.

"Leave? What, why?" Bramblestar gasped.

"Please don't think of me as a coward," Whitewing began, "but since the Great Battle, things haven't been the same. It's like we're not even Clans anymore, but rogues. ShadowClan, WindClan and even _RiverClan_ are always trying to start fights and stealing our prey. This past leafbare we barely even survived! In fact, Purdy starved to death and now it's newleaf and we don't even have enough prey for Cinderheart and her little ones. I'm afraid they'll all starve to death or be killed in battle...I just don't feel safe here anymore, Bramblestar."

Bramblestar took a deep breath and began thinking over what Whitewing had told him. He couldn't be mad at the white warrior though, because honestly many cats had come to him with the same worries.

"Whitewing, you can't leave," Bramblestar finally meowed. "We need you. I know that things seem bleak and hopeless right now, but things will shape up. Do you remember hearing stories about the battle with BloodClan?" He asked.

Whitewing nodded slowly.

"Well, that battle was an awful one too. I was scared that Scourge would jump out of the undergrowth and get me for moons, and I will admit I never imagined that the Clans would recover from that, but they did. And we'll recover from this too. The prey will come back to the forest and everything will be better, I promise." Bramblestar smiled, hoping Whitewing would feel reassured. Although deep down inside, Bramblestar had a nagging feeling in his belly as if he didn't believe himself. Whitewing was right. ThunderClan had lost so much in the past moons that sometimes he wondered if they would ever recover and go back to normal.

Whitewing opened her mouth to speak but suddenly a cat's voice out in the clearing let out a happy cry, "Cinderheart's had her kits!"

* * *

**Sorry it took me a while to update this. I've been busy with school so I haven't exactly had the time. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please feel free to point out any mistakes! **

**Thank you for reading! **

**Edit: Big thank you to The Mythical Palm Tree for helping me edit this chapter! I cannot believe I let so many errors slip by without notice, so I really appreciate it that you pointed some of them out to me and helped me edit them. **


	4. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Loud cheers sounded from the ThunderClan cats who were gathered out in the clearing.

"See, things are getting better all ready! Shall we go see them, Whitewing?" Bramblestar asked her. Whitewing slowly nodded, and Bramblestar could tell that she looked a little better, however he could sense a little bit of worry remaining.

Together Bramblestar and Whitewing padded out to the clearing. Outside of the nursery, Poppyfrost was standing there with her amber eyes gleaming with happiness. An eruption of questions rose from the crowd that had started to gather outside.

"How many did she have?"

"Are they all healthy?"

"What do they look like?"

"She had three healthy kits. One of them is a black she-cat which they've already decided on naming Hollykit. Another one is a fluffy golden tabby she-cat named Sorrelkit. And the very last one is a long haired dark gray she-cat named Fernkit. Jayfeather says they're all healthy and strong," Poppyfrost reported.

Bramblestar let out a happy purr. "Thank StarClan! Kits are always a good omen. I'm also glad that they decided to name their kits in honor of some of the cats who died in the Great Battle too." Hollyleaf, Ferncloud, and Sorreltail were all brave, ThunderClan warriors who had given up their lives to save their Clan mates. Hollyleaf had been brutally killed by Bramblestar's half-brother Hawkfrost. In return, Bramblestar killed Hawkfrost again, completely wiping the tabby-and-white tom from existence. Ferncloud had been protecting the nursery when Brokenstar attacked her and murdered her. And lastly, Sorreltail had bled to death from her wounds, leaving her two daughters, Seedkit and Lilykit, without a mother. Luckily the two she-cats had survived without their mother and they were now strong apprentices. Those cats weren't the only cats ThunderClan had lost though. Foxleap, Mousefur, Cloudtail and Firestar had also been killed during the battle and Toadstep, Hazeltail, Purdy, and Icecloud had died from a horrible fit of greencough that had struck the Clan.

"Lets have a feast!" Bramblestar called out, padding over to the fresh kill pile. He glanced down at the small pile and picked up a sparrow who he tossed to Bumblestripe. Then he got a shrew and gave it to Spiderleg. After a few minutes, all the cats in the clearing were all eating prey. Bramblestar gazed around at his Clan and smiled. For the first time in moons, things seemed to be getting better, but sadly this feeling of happiness didn't last long as Squirrelflight and her patrol burst into camp covered in blood.

"What in the name of StarClan happened?" the ThunderClan leader cried out, rushing over to his deputy and her patrol.

"ShadowClan outnumbered us."

"Again? Why does ShadowClan have so many cats in that part of our territory?" Seedpaw cried out.

"I have no idea. Blackstar must be planning something," Squirrelflight replied.

"They'll drive us out of the forest if we don't do something about this!" Dustpelt growled angrily. The dark brown tom was sitting outside of the elder's den digging his claws into the sandy ground.

"Either that or we will all starve to death..." Brightheart commented gravely.

"No, we will not be driven out or starve to death. I promise that as long as I am leader, ThunderClan will remain in the forest. I will not let anything happen to this Clan!" Bramblestar cried out, trying to calm his Clan mates who were now whispering anxiously among themselves.

"But we barely have any prey, Bramblestar. WindClan and ShadowClan are constantly at our throats. In fact, I've even scented _RiverClan_ cats in our territory. All of the Clans are struggling to feed themselves, and Leafpool and Jayfeather are running out of herbs. Something is going to have to happen to put this all to an end or things aren't going to end well for us," Spiderleg hissed. Several cats let out meows of agreement with the black-and-brown tom.

"Everyone, quiet down!" Bramblestar yowled, jumping up onto the High Ledge. "Listen, I know that things are hard for us, but we can't let this get us down. Newleaf is here now which means prey will be coming back. By greenleaf, I promise that all of us will have full bellies."

"But the prey should be back _now_. And besides, how can you guarantee if the prey will come back or not?" Spiderleg retorted.

"I can't, Spiderleg, but I just know that the prey can't stay gone forever. Look, we just have to keep our heads high. I know that things seem hard right now, but the life of a warrior cat is never easy. There will always be challenges that we will have to over come but we can't just give up when things seem hopeless. The Clans have survived for years, and I know that this is not the end of everything. Clan life will continue just as it always has! Sandstorm, remember when ThunderClan's old territory caught fire and we had to shelter in RiverClan's camp? And Brackenfur, do you remember when Tigerstar created TigerClan and brought BloodClan to the forest? Oh, and Brightheart, remember when Twolegs came to the forest and captured you and Cloudtail as well as destroyed our home and poisoned our prey? We all over came those things, and I know that we can over come this too!" Bramblestar yowled.

Slowly, cheers started to rise up from the ThunderClan warriors, "ThunderClan! ThunderClan! ThunderClan!"

"ThunderClan!" Bramblestar yowled up to the evening sky. He then began to give a silent prayer to StarClan, _Please protect the Clans!_

* * *

Bramblestar laid down on the High Ledge looking up at the night sky. It was well past moon high, but he couldn't sleep. He then heard a clatter of rocks falling from the slope that lead up here and he looked over to see Squirrelflight climbing up.

"Bramblestar? What are you doing out here at this time?" Squirrelflight questioned, sitting down next to him.

"I can't sleep."

"Can I lay next to you?" Squirrelflight whispered.

Bramblestar nodded and he scooted over to give her a little bit of room.

"Thanks. I-I can't sleep either..." she confessed, laying down.

"Is it because of ShadowClan?" Bramblestar wondered.

Squirrelflight nodded. "Well, that's one of the things bothering me. I just have a lot on my mind right now. Bramblestar, I think you should really go talk to the other Clan leaders about this. They obviously don't care their warriors are doing this if they're allowing it to go on, so I don't think this problem will just go away on its own."

Bramblestar gave her an uncertain look. "What do you think I should do then?"

Squirrelflight just sighed. "Well, maybe you could arrange for a meeting where you could all come to an agreement about this," she suggested.

"I don't know Squirrelflight..."

"Why not?" Squirrelflight challenged. "Do _you_ have a better idea?"

"Well...no, but it's just that..." Bramblestar trailed off, not sure of what to say. "I just don't know. It doesn't seem like a good idea. I can just see Blackstar and Onestar getting angry and things getting worse. I think we just need time to recover from this and then things will get better. I don't think we need to go talking things out."

"But Bramblestar we have to do something! Are you just going to keep letting WindClan and ShadowClan go at our throats stealing all our prey every day until everything just gets better? You heard what Spiderleg said: things are getting worse, not better. You need to do something before something happens we can't fight. We can't just sit around like ducks waiting for things to happen. You need to take action and do what you can before something serious does happen," Squirrelflight argued with him.

_She's right_, he thought. "I'll think about it, Squirrelflight," Bramblestar told her slowly. "Maybe at the next Gathering I'll say something to the others. Does that sound good?"

Squirrelflight let out a pleased purr. "I think that will work. The Gathering isn't too far off...what is it? A half moon away?"

Bramblestar nodded. "I promise at the next Gathering I'll talk to the other Clans."

Squirrelflight yawned and pressed closer to him. "...Sounds..." she yawned again, "good."

Bramblestar let out a yawn too. "Good." He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep next to Squirrelflight.

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**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I really want to thank the four of you who have reviewed so far. It means the world to me. Anyways, if you noticed any mistakes please feel free to point them out. Also remember to review, favorite, and follow if you enjoy this story! Also, I know that Cloudtail and Purdy didn't actually die in the real version, but I thought it would be for the best if they went. Cloudtail got some pretty nasty wounds and let's face it, Purdy was ancient. I was also contemplating if Cinderheart and Lionblaze's kits should be named Hollykit, Fernkit and Sorrelkit, but I decided that was an honorable thing to do so I kept it the same. If they had been named something different, they would have been Deerkit, a gray and white tabby, and Thrushkit, a brown tabby she-cat with white paws. **

**Thank you everyone. **


	5. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It had been a few sunrises since Bramblestar's talk with Squirrelflight. She had talked to him several times about speaking at the next Gathering, but the ThunderClan leader was still unsure.

_What would I even say to the other leaders? Tensions are already high enough right now and the last thing we need is Onestar or Blackstar getting offended. _"I wish Firestar was here. He would be able to handle this." Bramblestar huffed, kicking a stone into the lake. The dark brown tom settled down at the edge of the water and gazed into it, staring back at his reflection. "After all I've been through I never thought I would be put in this position. What if I'm wrong and we can't survive this?"

"Bramblestar, who are you talking to?"

Bramblestar jumped up and turned to see Daisy padding towards him with a wad of moss in her jaws.

"Oh, hey Daisy. What are you doing here?" he wondered.

"Leafpool sent me here to get some water for Cinderheart. She has a bit of a fever and Leafpool says she might be dehydrated," Daisy replied, trotting down to the waters edge.

"Is Cinderheart okay? She doesn't have greencough does she?" _Oh StarClan please let her be healthy! The last thing we need is another outbreak of greencough!_

"She's perfectly fine, Bramblestar, and so are her daughters." Daisy laughed, dipping the moss into the lake. Daisy then gazed across the water and stared at the Horse Place for a few moments. For a second there Bramblestar thought he saw Daisy's eyes fill with sadness. The queen had lost a lot in her life: Smokey, Hazeltail, Toadstep, and now her friend Floss who had died of greencough over the last leafbare.

"Do you miss living there?" Bramblestar whispered, gazing across the lake with her. He watched the blue waves roll across the lake and crash into the shore. In the distance he could see a flock of ducks swimming around, and close by a turtle was basking on a rock.

Daisy just shrugged. "Well...sometimes, but ThunderClan is where I truly belong. At first I wasn't so sure about living here, but now I know that this is my true home. ThunderClan is a better family than Smokey and Floss ever were, and my kits are happy to be here. Yes, life is hard here sometimes, but I could never leave now. I-I hope you know that, Bramblestar. Most cats view me as soft and think that I don't contribute anything to the Clan, but I honestly try my best to be helpful. I tried to learn to be a warrior, but that is just not for me. My strong suit is working with queens and things of that nature and I feel like I can give more to the Clan that way than I ever could as a warrior," The cream colored she-cat confessed quietly.

Bramblestar felt a pang of sadness in his heart as Daisy told him all of this. _I know how she feels. My entire life I've always felt like I didn't belong due to my father's crimes. _"Daisy, I don't think you're useless and neither does the Clan. There is more to Clan life than just hunting and fighting. Leafpool and Jayfeather don't hunt or fight, but they're some of the most important cats in the entire Clan. Queens are just as important too because without them we wouldn't have any kits. I mean, without you and Ferncloud, Jayfeather, Lionblaze and Hollyleaf wouldn't have had a mother. And without you and Brightheart, Sorreltail's kits could have died. You're a very important cat, Daisy, so don't let any cat tell you that you're not."

A faint purr rose up in Daisy's throat. "You're right. Thank you," she replied, picking her moss back up. "Are you coming back to camp with me?"

Bramblestar shook his head. "No, I'm going to relax a little more out here."

"Okay then. I'll see you back at camp," Daisy murmured.

Bramblestar could hear the crunching of sand and stone under her paws and she turned and walked away into the forest. Bramblestar closed his eyes and exhaled. All around him he could hear the gentle sounds of the forest: the lapping of the waves, the sound of leaves brushing together in the wind, sparrows chirping in the distance. All of it made the forest seem so peaceful and for a second all of his worries vanished. "If only we could put our differences aside and work together instead of against one another." He sighed. His amber eyes opened up and for a couple of minutes he just stared out across the lake again. His gaze rested on the island and then up at the faint moon up in the blue sky. "I've made up my mind. At the next Gathering, I'll talk to the others."

* * *

Bramblestar crept along the forest floor. A few tail lengths ahead a small furry mouse was sitting on a tree root, eating some seeds. Bramblestar could see it's little whiskers twitch as it ate. As soon as he was close enough, he leaped forward and sank his claws into the little creatures body and killed it. Warm blood ran down the side of his mouth and he let out a satisfied purr. On his way home he had decided to hunt and so far he had caught a starling and the mouse. _Maybe the prey is coming back after all. _

Bramblestar padded through the forest until he came to a fresh mound of dirt where he had buried his earlier catch. He dug up the starling and started to head home. Despite the struggles that the Clan had been facing in the last moons, he felt more confident than ever that things would be returning to normal.

"Great catch!" Sandstorm called from the elder's den as soon as Bramblestar padded back into camp.

Bramblestar dropped his prey onto the pile before purring out a thanks.

"Hey, Bramblestar. Want to come on a patrol with me, Spiderleg, Brackenfur and Amberpaw?" Mousewhisker called from the camp entrance.

"Sure," Bramblestar smiled, trotting over to the cats. "Where are we heading today."

"The WindClan border!" Amberpaw squeaked excitedly. "Do you think we'll run into a patrol? Oh, what if there's a battle. I'll rip them to shreds, especially that Hootpaw. That apprentice really ruffles my fur. At the last Gather-"

"Enough, Amberpaw. You'll scare all the prey away chattering on like that," Spiderleg scolded her.

"Lighten up, Spiderleg. She's just trying to have some fun. I remember when I was an apprentice." Brackenfur smiled. "Cinderpelt and I had so much fun training together. I remember one day Firestar and Graystripe both took us out hunting and the river was completely frozen. Cinderpelt spotted a vole on the ice, but it was Graystripe who caught it. Graystripe was so fat though that he fell right through the ice and a RiverClan cat named Silverstream had to come save him. I was scared out of my fur," Brackenfur told his niece.

"Really? Wow! Wait...why was Firestar training Cinderpelt. I thought she was a medicine cat?" Amberpaw asked.

"She started out training as a warriors apprentice, but she got hit by a monster which crippled her hind leg," Bramblestar spoke up. _And_ _It's my fathers fault she never got to live out her dream of being a warrior..._

"Oh yeah, Brightheart said something about that before. Oh, look we're here!" The ginger she-cat exclaimed, rushing to the stream that made the border between WindClan and ThunderClan.

"Be quiet, Amberpaw. You don't need to alert WindClan of our presence," Spiderleg reminded her.

"It looks like they've already made their way through here today so I don't think we will be seeing any signs of them on this patrol," Mousewhisker mewed, marking the border.

Bramblestar padded over to a clump of ferns and marked the border. He then padded a little deeper into ThunderClan territory and marked the border just in case there were any WindClan cats or rogues in the territory.

One last time he gazed out across the moorland to try and pick up any flickers of moment but he caught none. Something felt off to him though. Usually you could always see a flicker of movement in the distance or hear the sound of excited apprentices out in the distance, but today everything was quiet. Bramblestar just shrugged it off_. WindClan is probably just resting through the heat of the day. The heat will take more of a toll on them since they're out in the open with no shade._

Bramblestar and the others turned and headed back home. Along the way back, Mousewhisker managed to catch a shrew, and Amberpaw had almost caught a squirrel but it had gotten away.

"Today has been a good day. The prey sure has been plentiful. See, Spiderleg! I told you the prey wouldn't stay gone for long." Bramblestar purred.

Spiderleg just let out a snort. "The prey was just more active than normal. After all, the weather today was warmer than it usually is this time of year. Plus my joints are aching which means rain will be coming soon. I can sense it," the warrior grumbled under his breath.

"'Your joints are aching'? How old are you, Spiderleg? You sound like Sandstorm!" Mousewhisker laughed.

Spiderleg just rolled his eyes.

"If you're right Spiderleg, then some rain will do us good. The forest looks a little dry and I'm sure the rain would bright the prey back." Bramblestar purred. Soon the camp entrance came into sight and the patrol went to their nests to rest for a little while.

Bramblestar climbed up onto the High Ledge and looked out at his Clan. The fresh-kill pile was stocked with prey and a satisfied purr rose up in his throat. _See. I knew things would be getting better!_

"Today was a good day, wasn't it?" Squirrelflight asked as she settled down next to him.

"It certainly has been. How are the borders? Is ShadowClan still lurking around in our territory?" he asked before quickly adding, "the WindClan border was silent today."

"That's good. And we did manage to catch a rogue on our territory, but other than that no Clan activity. However I did scent Tigerheart and some other cat around the ShadowClan border, but we didn't catch any cats or see any blood or feathers left behind from a catch. I had the patrol remark the entire border including deep inland so that way if any strange cat tries to hunt here they'll know this land belongs to ThunderClan," Squirrelflight reported.

"That is wonderful news, Squirrelflight!" Bramblestar exclaimed.

Squirrelflight opened up her mouth to say something but suddenly a loud shriek split the air, "WindClan, attack!"

* * *

**I would have had this chapter uploaded sooner, but my internet went out so I couldn't upload it. I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed my story and I'm very glad that you like it! If you like this story, please be sure to review/follow/favorite! It means a lot to me and I'm just very glad that you enjoy my story. If you see any errors please feel free to point them out to me and I'll fix them right away. **


	6. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

WindClan cats came pouring into ThunderClan's camp. The once peaceful clearing was now alive with fighting and screeching cats.

Bramblestar sprung off the High Ledge with Squirrelflight on his heels. The dark brown tabby tom scanned the clearing for Onestar, but the WindClan leader was no where to be found.

_There!_ Onestar was locked in combat with Graystripe right outside the elder's den.

Bramblestar jumped on Onestar's back and hauled him off the elderly gray tom. "Why have you come here?" Bramblestar spat, hooking his claws into the light brown tom's shoulders.

"To drive you out! This is WindClan's territory now," Onestar screeched. He raked his claws across Bramblestar's shoulder and scarlet blood spattered across the sandy ground.

"That will never happen! The forest will always belong to ThunderClan. Have you forgotten what Firestar did for you all those moons ago? Without him and Graystripe, you wouldn't even be leader of WindClan. In fact, there wouldn't even _be_ a WindClan anymore!" Bramblestar growled. Rage pulsed through his body and his heart thumped wildly. How dare Onestar try and drive them from their home!

Onestar let out a snort. "That's all in the past now." Onestar surged forward and grabbed Bramblestar's front leg and bit down hard. Bramblestar let out a loud screech and pushed Onestar off. Clumps of dark tabby fur hung from Onestar's mouth and he turned and spat them out.

Bramblestar took his chance and sprang. He knocked the WindClan leader over and raked his claws down the side of his muzzle. If WindClan was going to fight like rogues, then he'd fight like one too. He'd give up all nine of his lives to show that ThunderClan would not be driven out.

Onestar howled in pain but didn't give up. He leaped onto Bramblestar and pushed him down to the ground. Quick as a mouse, Bramblestar turned over onto his back and crushed Onestar. He then leaped up and pinned Onestar to the ground. Onestar struggled under Bramblestar's weight, but Bramblestar was much bigger than the lithe WindClan tom. Bramblestar quickly sank his claws into Onestar's soft stomach.

Onestar started howling in pain.

"Never attack my Clan again," Bramblestar growled quietly into Onestar's ear. Onestar nodded vigorously and wriggled free from Bramblestar's grip. Before Bramblestar could see if Onestar would retreat, the sharp pain of a cat biting down on his tail. Bramblestar turned around to see Nightcloud glaring at him. The black she-cat raked her claws down Bramblestar's back leg and bared her fangs in an attack.

Bramblestar turned and lunged at Nightcloud. Together the two cats wrestled on the ground. Nightcloud bit down hard on Bramblestar's shoulder until a loud 'pop' sounded. He grimaced in pain but he didn't give up. He could see that Nightcloud was sporting a gruesome wound on her chest, but she didn't give up fighting either. Her blood smeared all over the ThunderClan leader as they continued to fight. Bramblestar's shoulder was aching so bad that he felt he could barley stand, but he had to protect his Clan.

"WindClan, retreat!"

Nightcloud hissed angrily andslipped out under Bramblestar before quickly limping to the camp entrance along with her other Clan mates. Soon the clearing was empty of all WindClan cats.

Bramblestar collapsed to the ground. His chest was heaving and he could hear the roar of his blood in his ears. "Is everyone okay?" He called out hoarsely.

"No, we're not okay! Briarlight got hurt," Millie screeched, racing for Bramblestar. "You told us that you'd protect us, and Briarlight almost died because of you!"

"Because of me? What did-"

"You should have been protecting her! You know she can't fight and defend herself as well as everyone else. You should be ashamed to call yourself. All of you should, especially you Blossomfall! Look at you, you've barley got a scratch on you. Where were you at when your poor, defenseless sister was all alone in the medicine cat's den fighting for her life? I can't believe you. You should be more grateful," Millie growled, seething with anger.

"Millie, you need to calm down right now. Briarlight is fine. She didn't even get hurt from the battle - it was a bramble wound. When WindClan attacked I pushed her into the den and she scraped herself on some brambles. I was with her the entire time and not once did any WindClan cats attack her or even get inside the medicine cat's den," Leafpool mewed, trying to calm the panicking warrior down. "Now come and get some poppy seeds. They'll sooth your nerves."

Millie just glared at Leafpool, but after a few seconds she obeyed and followed Leafpool into the medicine cat's den.

"Millie's right you know. You said you would protect us, but you couldn't even keep WindClan from attacking us. Where were all of the patrols at? Didn't _you_ just go and patrol the WindClan border? How come you weren't able to tell that WindClan was on their way to attack us?" Molewhisker growled.

"Yeah!"

Suddenly the clearing broke out into an eruption of angry meows.

"Everyone just be quiet!" Bramblestar yowled, leaping up onto the High Ledge. "I cannot believe some of the things I am hearing. We are a _Clan_, not a group of rogues. We need to stick together, not turn our backs against one another. When I went out on patrol today, there was not a single sign of WindClan anywhere to be seen. They most likely used the under ground tunnel systems to get here. We all know that they've done that before, so it doesn't surprise me that they would do that again. Look, I know that tensions are high, but I just know that things are going to get better. Squirrelflight and I have been talking, and at the next Gathering I'm going to go speak with the leaders about setting up a meeting to talk about this. Hopefully we can come to an agreement over these issues and work together instead of against one another. This is just as hard for me as it is for you, so I would appreciate it if we could put the bickering behind us and work together as a Clan," Bramblestar yowled.

The Clan seemed to calm down just a little bit, making Bramblestar sigh with relief. "If it will help any, we will be sending out more patrols and setting up guards in the forest. In the morning, afternoon and evening we will send out six cats - three on each patrol - to go out and patrol the borders. Then all throughout the day we will have two cats go and check up again on the border. Two cats will be in charge of guarding the forest as well. One cat will be close to the ShadowClan border, and the other will be in charge of the territory closest to WindClan. That way if any strange activity is going on, they'll be able to come back to the Clan and alert us before the enemy patrol arrives at camp." Bramblestar called out.

"Three cats only? Don't you think we'd need more cats than that on a patrol. What if a border dispute happens?" Ivypool questioned.

"Good question. Hopefully it won't come to a fight, but if either Clan shows aggression, I want the patrol to go find one of the forest-guard cats. I'm sure that a patrol of four cats would be enough for a fight," Bramblestar meowed. He felt a small worm of worry in his stomach and he wasn't sure if his plan would work very well. _We'll try it and see if it works or not. _

A few cats let out mews of agreement, but he could see that some cats still had uncertain expressions on their faces.

"We'll just try this for now to see if it works out or not. With more cats out on guard, it means we are more alert and the enemy will have a harder time sneaking up on us. If it doesn't work, we'll just try something different. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. "

* * *

"Being leader is harder than I expected it would be. I don't know how Firestar did it," Bramblestar grumbled as he followed Squirrelflight through the forest.

"Well, Firestar never had to deal with a Clan that was falling apart at the seams. You're doing very well for our circumstances, Bramblestar. Whenever they challenge you, don't take it to heart. There's just been a lot going on lately and they're scared. I know they don't mean it when they yell at you," Squirrelflight argued.

"I suppose. I just feel like a failure. I keep telling them things will get better but then it doesn't."

"How are you supposed to know what the other Clans are thinking? You didn't know that Rowanclaw would ambush you the other day or that WindClan would attack us. Bramblestar, you're the glue that holds this Clan together. Without you we would crumble and fall apart. You're a very good leader and you're doing your best. No cat can predict what the future holds, not even Clan leaders. Please stop blaming yourself. No one really thinks you're responsible for the lack of prey or increase in battles. Those cats just say those things out of anger and fear," Squirrelflight insisted.

Bramblestar opened up his mouth to speak, but Squirrelflight interrupted him, "And even if some of the leaders don't listen to you, I _know_ at least one of them will. Battle takes a toll on them just as it does us, and pretty soon all their warriors will be too wounded to continue fighting and they'll have to stop. Hopefully the prey will have come back before we get to that point, but just know that this isn't going to go on forever."

"When did you get so wise?" Bramblestar laughed.

"What do you mean?" Squirrelflight narrowed her green eyes.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! You were such an annoying fur ball back in your apprentice days. I remember when Dustpelt forbid you from going to a Gathering one time because you forgot to change Frostfur's bedding. You were madder than a fox in a fit!" Bramblestar purred at the memory.

"Hey! You'd be mad too if that was you," Squirrelflight objected.

"You can't deny you were a brat back then, Squirrelflight," Bramblestar teased.

"Was not!"

"Was too."

"I was not, Bramblestar!" Squirrelflight lashed her tail. Her green eyes were a little angry, but Bramblestar could tell she wasn't really upset.

"You still have a little bit of it in you," Bramblestar whispered. "This is so nice. I wish we could just sit here and talk all day long. Hey, do you remember when Jayfeather, Lionblaze and Hollyleaf were kits and they tried to go and drive out the fox cubs? I-I was so worried about Jayfeather when he fell off the side of the cliff. I really thought he was done for. If only those days could come back...if only we had kits of our own. I was so devastated when..." he broke off what he was about to say. He had forgiven Squirrelflight for lying to him, but he was still hurt to find out that he wasn't actually a father.

"A-About that..." Squirrelflight gulped.

Bramblestar looked over at her to see Squirrelflight sadly looking down at her paws. Her one-white paw was shuffling awkwardly in the sand.

"What is it, Squirrelflight?" he whispered.

"Bramblestar...when Leafpool was pregnant she tried to get me to take the kits but I refused. I-I didn't want to lie to everyone," Squirrelflight's voice cracked, "but then...Yellowfang came to me in a dream. She told me that I'll never be able to have kits of my own. Not yours, not any cats. That's why I took the kits. I wanted to be able to experience motherhood at least once. I never told you this before because I knew that it would break your heart. I'm so sorry, Bramblestar." Squirrelflight's voice quivered and Bramblestar could see her green gaze filled with so many emotions.

"Squirrelflight, I'm so sorry. If I had known I wouldn't have been so harsh with you. I don't care if you can't have kits. I just want to be with you and all I care about is that the fact that you're healthy and strong. That's all that matters to me. W-We don't need kits to be happy," he spoke.

"No, Bramblestar. I can't do that to you. I can tell how much you want kits of your own, and if you were to be with me that wouldn't be fair. We shouldn't be together at all. You deserve to have a good, loyal mate who eventually has your kits. Together with her you can raise a happy family. Who knows? Maybe one day one of them will even be Clan leader..." Squirrelflight uttered.

Bramblestar's heart sank into his stomach and he felt as if a tree had just crushed him. "Squirrelflight..."

"No, no. It's fine. We aren't destined to be together. I-I'm going to head back to camp now." Without waiting for a response, Squirrelflight stood up and headed back to the camp.

Bramblestar watched her go and he felt his heart ache_. We aren't destined to be together._

* * *

**This is the longest chapter by far! I really hope I can make more of the chapters longer from now on. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorites and followed this story. I'm very glad that you like this story. Please review/favorite/follow if you like this story. It means a lot to me, and I'm also open to all forms of constructive criticism. I want to do whatever it takes to make my story as good as it can possibly be, so please don't be shy to leave your thoughts. Also please feel free to point out any mistakes...I had a lot going on when I wrote this, so there are probably a few mistakes in this chapter as I was rushing. **

**Thank you!**


	7. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Is everyone ready for the Gathering?" Bramblestar called, scanning the clearing.

"I think so. Hey, wait a second, where's Lilypaw?" Brackenfur called out, looking for his daughter.

A few seconds later a scrabbling sound came from the dirt place tunnel and Lilypaw shot out. The she-cat was panting, "Here..."

Bramblestar's whiskers twitched in amusement and he turned and headed out of camp with his cats. It had been three days since his rather painful conversation with Squirrelflight, and the ginger she-cat had barley spoken to him other than to arrange patrols and discuss Clan issues. _I can't believe she said we aren't supposed to be together. _His heart still ached at the bitter memory. He felt so awful for Squirrelflight that he wished that he could give her what she desperately wanted.

"I'm so excited! I wonder if Dawnpelt has had her kits yet," Cherryfall mewed to Thornclaw.

The golden-brown tom just shrugged. "She didn't look that big to me the last time I saw her. I don't think she'll have her kits for a while which is good. The last thing we need is more ShadowClan warriors to worry about," Thornclaw muttered.

"Oh come on, Thornclaw. They're just kits. Speaking of kits, have you seen Cinderheart's yet? Hollykit looks just like Hollyleaf that it's almost scary. I can tell they're all going to be great warriors one day," The young warrior purred.

Bramblestar smiled at Cherryfall's conversation. All around him he could hear his Clan chatting happily among one another and it felt like there was no drama at all among the Clans. _If only that were the truth. _

Up in the distance, he could see the shadows of the WindClan patrol as they made their way to the Gathering.

Onestar turned and glared at the ThunderClan patrol as they approached.

"Good evening, Onestar." Bramblestar dipped his head to the WindClan tom.

Onestar just scoffed and commanded his patrol to walk faster. Several WindClan cats hissed and growled at the ThunderClan cats as they walked past.

"I can't believe them," Bramblestar heard Lionblaze mutter.

Bramblestar's stomach began to churn nervously. _We can't start fighting on the night of a Gathering! _The ThunderClan cats were silent for the rest of the trip. Soon the island came up. One by one the warriors crossed the tree bridge and padded to the clearing onto the island.

"Looks like we're the last ones here," Cherryfall commented as they pushed their way through the undergrowth.

"Finally ThunderClan is here. Let's start!" Blackstar announced. The large white tom climbed up onto the large oak tree that sat in the middle of the clearing. Mistystar, Onestar, and Bramblestar climbed up after him.

"Can I sit next to you?" Mistystar purred.

Bramblestar nodded and the blue-gray she-cat settled down next to him.

The branches above his head clattered as Blackstar stood up. "All is well in ShadowClan this moon. Snaketail and Kinkfur have retired to the elders den, and we have two new apprentices: Grasspaw and Spikepaw. Dawnpelt has still not had her kits, but Littlecloud says it should be any moon now." Blackstar dipped his head and sat down.

"Grasspaw! Spikepaw! Grasspaw! Spikepaw!" The Clan cats cheered. As soon as the cheers died out, Onestar stood up to make his report.

"Things are going well in WindClan as well. Larkwing's kits, Slightkit and Featherkit, have been apprenticed finally. Their mentors are Crowfeather and Hareflight," he began.

_Featherpaw? Ouch. I wonder how Crowfeather feels about that. _Bramblestar tried to scan the clearing for the dark gray tom, but he couldn't find him anywhere. Seasons ago, Bramblestar, Tawnypelt, Crowfeather, Squirrelflight, Stormfur and Feathertail had traveled far from the forest to talk to Midnight. Crowfeather and Feathertail had fallen in love, but in the end Feathertail had given up her life to save the Tribe of Rushing Water from Sharptooth, an evil mountain lion who was picking the Tribe cats off like prey.

"Sedgewhisker has also had her kits. She's had four kits: Mudkit, Shrewkit, Doekit, and Specklekit. Kestrelflight says they're all strong and healthy. We also have some sad news this moon: Tornear has died. He was found dead in his nest, and we presume it was from old age. He will always be remembered among WindClan." Onestar glanced at Mistystar and signaled to her that she could speak now.

"Hello everyone," Mistystar began, "things are running great in RiverClan this moon. Petalfur's kits will be here any day, and Icewing is now expecting kits as well. We also have three new warriors: Shimmerpelt, Lakeshine, and Heronwing. We also encountered a fox near the horse place four sunrises ago and our cats chased it to the WindClan border, so please keep a watch for it, Onestar. That is all."

Bramblestar stood up and looked out at the cats. "Prey is returning back to the forest this moon which is a good sign. Cinderheart has also given birth to her kits. She's had three beautiful daughters. Cinderheart and Lionblaze have decided to name their kits after three of our fallen warriors - Hollykit, Fernkit and Sorrelkit." He flicked his tail to signal that he was done speaking, and then the leaders all climbed down to talk with the other cats.

Bramblestar scanned the clearing for Tawnypelt to see if he could find his sister and talk to her.

"Bramblestar! There you are - I've been looking for you everywhere," Tawnypelt cried, running up to him.

"I've been looking for you as well. How are you Tawnypelt? You look so nice."

"I'm doing great. Oh, I can't wait for Dawnpelt's kits. I can't believe I'm going to be a grandmother. I feel so old now..." She laughed a little bit. "You're a grandfather now as well."

Bramblestar shuffled his paws awkwardly, unsure of what to say. "Er...not really. Lionblaze isn't my kin, remember?" The painful memory of his and Squirrelflight's conversation a few sunrises ago reappeared in his mind.

"So? You still raised him as if he was your own son. Blood doesn't always mean something you know," Tawnypelt murmured.

Bramblestar just shrugged, unsure of what to say. He then remembered that he needed to speak with the other leaders. "I need to go talk to the other leaders about something. I'll talk to you later, okay, Tawnypelt?" Bramblestar waved his tail in good-bye and padded off to go search for the others.

Bramblestar searched around for the others. Finally he spotted Mistystar talking with Heathertail. "Sorry for interrupting," He began, "Mistystar, I'd like to talk to you about something. But first I need to find Blackstar and Onestar."

Mistystar mewed a farewell to Heathertail before turning and trotting over to Bramblestar. "I saw Blackstar talking with Graystripe last. And I think Onestar is with Kestrelflight and the other medicine cats, but I'm not entirely sure."

Bramblestar nodded and they went to go find the two toms. Sure enough, they were right where Mistystar had said they were.

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm doing something important?" Onestar snapped.

"This is important as well. Follow me please." Bramblestar said and he padded away from the other cats. He sat down on the edge of the island and gazed out at the dark water. The other leaders quietly found a place near by and settled down to hear what Bramblestar had to say. He took a deep breath and then said, "Times have been tough for all of us, and things aren't going to get better if they continue on the way that they are. Ambushes, prey stealing, killing...this isn't how Clan cats should behave." He glanced at the other leaders to try and read their expressions. Mistystar was nodding, while Blackstar had a scowl on his face.

"What are you trying to say, Bramblestar?" The old ShadowClan tom growled.

"I'm saying that we can't continue on the way that we are. It's no secret that the Clans are stealing prey from one another and launching attacks on the others to drive them out. Three days from now, we should meet here with our deputies to discuss this issue. We need to end it before it's too late," Bramblestar meowed, a hint of anger in his voice.

"I'll come. I want to put an end to this too. I hate all of this hostility and violence going around. I feel like a rogue instead of a Clan cat," Mistystar confessed immediately.

"Well, I'm not going. ThunderClan cats may feel the need to steal from others, but ShadowClan cats are loyal to the bone. I don't need to attend some dumb meeting. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be going," Blackstar snapped. He stood up and started to head off towards the group.

Onestar stood up and followed him. "Wait up!"

"Hold on, you can't leave! You two can't tell us that there is absolutely no drama at all between the Clans. I've seen it with my own eyes. You can deny it all you want to seem brave, but you're mouse-brained at best. How many deaths will it take to show you we need to put an end to this? How many? Your entire Clan? Because that's what will happen if you two continue to let your Clans - all of the Clans - to run wild like this. Please attend the meeting or you'll regret it," Mistystar roared.

Blackstar flattened his ears to his head and exchanged a look with Onestar. "I'll come, but it better be worth it," He growled.

Onestar just gave an annoyed look and muttered, "I _might_ come. No guarantees though, so don't count on it!"

A delighted purr rumbled in Bramblestar's throat. "Great. Then it's official: in three sunrises, we'll meet here with our deputies."

The three leaders nodded and they all padded back to their Clans. Bramblestar rounded up his warriors, and they all started to head home The dark brown tabby tom glanced up at the moon and smiled. He closed his amber eyes and let out a silent prayer. _Please, StarClan, let this work. _

* * *

**If you haven't noticed already, I changed this stories name to 'Rising Storm'. I figured that it fit much better than the other title. Thank you everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed. It means a lot to me. As usual, if you see any mistakes, please feel free to point them out to me. Do you think that the meeting will work, or do you think it'll end in a fight? You'll just have to wait and see! **

**Thanks for reading. **


	8. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Birds were beginning to stir in the trees as Bramblestar and Squirrelflight made their way through the forest. The sun was barley rising up over the hills, but due to the clouds that hovered in the sky, there wasn't much light.

Lionblaze had wanted to tag along to keep them safe, but Bramblestar refused.

"Alright, just be safe. You know how Blackstar and Onestar are. They might take this as a time for an ambush," the golden warrior warned. His amber eyes had a grim look to them.

Squirrelflight just shook her head and mewed, "That won't be necessary. The other leaders agreed to meet with us in peace. Bramblestar's tough anyways, so he'll manage to fight them off!"

_That's the first time she's been friendly with me since we had that conversation, _Bramblestar thought sadly. He glanced up at Squirrelflight who was walking a few paces ahead of him. _Maybe she's right. Maybe we should just move on. After all we've been through, tensions will be high for us if we get back together. Plus, what if it ruins what we have as a leader and deputy? The Clan can't have their leader and deputy feuding..._

"Look, the lake has risen!" Squirrelflight called out, shaking him free of his troubling thoughts.

Bramblestar bounded forwards and pushed his way through the ferns. Sure enough, the lake had risen several feet. Squirrelflight padded to the waters edge and took a drink, but she grimaced and spit out the water. "Yuck! This stuff is disgusting..."

Confused, Bramblestar walked to the edge of the water and took a drink of it himself. A salty tang hit his mouth and he jumped back. "You're right. The water tastes like the sun-drown place water. Do you think that Twolegs poisoned it?"

Squirrelflight shook her head. "No, I don't. Perhaps it is an omen?"

Bramblestar shrugged. "I don't know. It could be...but what in the name of StarClan could it mean? Hopefully this isn't a sign that we have to go back to the sun-drown place, or even worse: leave the lake." Fear pulsed through Bramblestar's body. They couldn't leave the forest after all they had been through. Why would StarClan lead them to the lake if they just had to leave?

"Come on, we should get going. I think I see Onestar and Harespring coming over the rise," Squirrelflight mewed, nudging him away from the lake.

Together the two of them walked around the edge of the lake towards the island. Along the way, they stopped at the stream that marked the border between ThunderClan and WindClan to get the salty tang out of each of their mouths.

Bramblestar glanced over at Squirrelflight. The deputy's leaf-green eyes were filled with confidence. "Do you think this will work?" he wondered.

Squirrelflight smiled at him and then nodded. "Of course I do! WindClan and ShadowClan may be prideful, but they aren't stupid. They're going to realize sooner or later that things can't carry on the way they are. And I know that Mistystar will listen. She's a sensible cat and I'm sure that she will do the right thing for her Clan."

Bramblestar just let out a deep breath and he broke into a run. He heard Squirrelflight let out a hiss of surprise, but he didn't stop running. He ran the rest of the way and splashed through the marsh.

"Hey! You completely ditched me. I should cuff you around the ear right now you stupid furball!" Squirrelflight growled as she caught up with him.

Bramblestar just let out a purr and they padded towards the island. Bramblestar leaped up onto the tree bridge and carefully made his way across the slippery wood. Since the lake has risen, the bark was soaking wet and the waves gently crashed up on parts of the trunk. He heard the trunk creak as Squirrelflight leaped up behind him. Suddenly a loud screech filled the air as the ginger she-cat slipped off the trunk and splashed into the water below.

"Squirrelflight!" Bramblestar's amber eyes widened in horror as his deputy went under. He bunched his muscles to leap into the water after her, but he heard splashing and turned to see Reedwhisker, the RiverClan deputy, splashing through the water after her.

"I'll get you, Squirrelflight," The black tom meowed before diving under the water. A few seconds later he appeared with Squirrelflight in his mouth. She coughed up bits of water and slowly climbed up onto the island shore.

"Thank you so much, Reedwhisker," Bramblestar told the tom, and he bowed his head. "Will she be alright?"

Reedwhisker nodded and climbed out onto the bank next to Squirrelflight. The black tom shook himself like a dog, and water droplets sprayed everywhere, soaking Bramblestar. "Don't worry about it. And yes, she should be fine."

Bramblestar quickly walked across the rest of the tree bridge and padded over to his deputy to make sure she was alright.

"Is Squirrelflight okay?" Mistystar called out. The old, blue-gray leader padded across the tree bridge and gracefully leaped off next to Bramblestar.

He nodded and flicked his tail towards Reedwhisker. "She's fine thanks to Reedwhisker."

Mistystar started to purr happily. "I'm glad. Now let's go, I can smell Blackstar waiting for us."

_So much for being early, _Bramblestar thought as he followed the RiverClan cats to the center of the island. Squirrelflight slowly followed behind him.

Blackstar and Rowanclaw were already in the clearing when ThunderClan and RiverClan arrived.

"You sure did take your time, Bramblestar," Blackstar growled.

"I'm sorry, but my deputy...had an accident," he glanced over at Squirrelflight. She was a little shaken up and wet, but other than that she looked fine.

Rowanclaw smirked. "She looks like a drowned squirrel."

Squirrelflight glared at the ShadowClan tom but before she could reply, Onestar and Harespring pushed their way into the clearing. "WindClan is here," Onestar announced. "Now this better be worth our time."

All eight cats settled down to get comfortable. Their eyes rested on Bramblestar and waited for him to speak. Bramblestar took a deep breath and he quickly gathered his thoughts together. "Ever since the Great Battle, things have been getting worse for us. We've completely turned against one another, and instead of behaving like honorable Clan cats, we're acting like rogues. Think about what our fallen Clan mates would think if they saw how we were acting. What would they say? They died trying to save the Clans, but the way we're acting makes it seem as if they died for nothing," he began. Bramblestar opened his mouth to speak, but Onestar jumped up.

"Ashfoot did not die for nothing! Neither did any of the other brave WindClan warriors we lost that day. How dare you say they died for nothing! What else are we supposed to do for food other than steal? We are _starving_! We have no food left on the moor. The only way that we are to survive is if we battle for it. I'm not going to let my Clan die from starvation while I let the enemy Clans around me chowing down on plump mice and sparrows!" The WindClan leader's eyes were bulging in rage.

Mistystar jumped up and forced Onestar to calm down. "Stop it! Just listen to Bramblestar. Onestar, WindClan isn't the only Clan that is having trouble. All of us are. There are barley any fish in the river, and lately the water is so salty that all the fish have been dying. The only food that RiverClan has left is the land prey, but we cannot survive if the other Clans keep stealing from us." Her blue eyes blazed with anger as she stared into Onestar's amber eyes. She then glanced over at Blackstar and gave him a look as if she were challenging him.

"ShadowClan never steals prey from any Clan," he finally sniffed, flicking his tail back and forth.

"Mouse-brain! Yes you do! I saw your cats hunting fish from the lake yesterday. How dare you sit there and lie, Blackstar. You know what your cats are doing!" Mistystar roared. Her blue-gray fur was fluffed up.

Bramblestar sat there shocked. He had never saw the RiverClan cat get so angry before. "Everyone calm down. We need to talk peacefully about this otherwise-"

"No, I'm leaving. Come on Harespring." Onestar stood up and made his way towards the tree bridge.

Squirrelflight leaped up and ran in front of him, blocking their only way out. "No! You have to stay here. Don't you want things to be peaceful?"

Harespring unsheathed his claws and hissed at her. "Move out of the way, fleabag." He retorted.

Squirrelflight's ears flattened to her head and a growl rose in her throat. "I'll show you whose a fleabag! Come here, rabbit-breath." She leaped on him and the two cats wrestled on the ground. Onestar flung himself onto the two fighting deputies and tore them apart from one another.

Suddenly the remaining sunlight vanished and the sky darkened dramatically. The cats stopped fighting with one another to look up at the sky. Dark gray clouds hovered in the sky, and far off thunder rumbled.

"StarClan is angry..." Rowanclaw whispered.

"I don't care! Come on, Harespring. We're leaving immediately," Onestar spat, storming through the undergrowth.

Harespring looked a little reluctant, but he turned and followed his leader.

"Mouse-dung! Now what will we do? Should we try and stop them?" Reedwhisker asked.

Mistystar shook her head and said, "Onestar will realize he is wrong sooner or later. For now we'll just have to wait for him to come around. Blackstar, what do you say: will you put an end to the violence in ShadowClan and help us?"

Blackstar was silent for a little while. "No," he finally decided. "ShadowClan doesn't take orders from any other cat but me. Let's go." The large white tom rose to his paws and together he and his deputy left the island.

Finally it was just ThunderClan and RiverClan left. Squirrelflight's green eyes were filled with sadness, and Mistystar looked sick.

"Thank you for coming, Mistystar," Bramblestar sighed. "I really appreciate it and I wish things could have gone better."

Mistystar dipped her head. "I wish things could have gone better as well. Maybe at the next Gathering those two will come around. For now, if you ever need RiverClan's help we will be here."

"Thank you," Squirrelflight mewed. "ThunderClan will support you too."

The four cats said their good-byes before splitting up to go their own ways.

* * *

"Those clouds are huge!" Squirrelflight gasped.

Bramblestar turned around to see that she was right. In the distance, big black clouds, bigger than ThunderClan territory, loomed in the horizon. He hadn't payed much attention to storm clouds before, but these were bigger than he had ever seen in his life. Big white birds were dotted all across the moor, and the brought a strange scent of sand and salt. _They must come from the sun-drown place...but how would they have been blown all the way here? _

Suddenly, big, fat raindrops started to fall from the dark sky, and a wind started to blow across the moorland.

Squirrelflight and Bramblestar leaped the stream, and headed through the forest as fast as they could. The trees creaked in the wind, and leaves showered down on them as they were plucked from their branches.

"I hope this storm will bring the prey back."

"Me too," Squirrelflight agreed.

By the time they had arrived in camp, the rain had fallen harder. _I'll tell the other cats later. Right now all I want to do is rest..._

"How did the meeting go? Did the other Clans agree?" Brackenfur asked, padding up.

The ThunderClan leader nodded. "I'll talk about it later. I'm really tired right now," he yawned.

Brackenfur dipped his head and padded away.

Bramblestar padded up the High Ledge and disappeared into his den. He settled down in his nest. He could hear the rain pattering on the ground outside his den, and soon the gentle roaring of the rain put him to sleep.

* * *

**I hope you liked this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it. Like always, please be sure to review/favorite/follow if you enjoy! I want to thank everyone who has done so already and I just really hope that you are enjoying the story. Also thank you to everyone who commented on my writing style. It means a lot to me, and I am so pleased my writing is good! If you spot any mistakes, please feel free to point them out. The storm will be coming soon, so you'll just have to wait and see what will happen. **

**Thank you for reading!**


	9. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The groaning wind and creaking of branches woke Bramblestar up. _It's going to be impossible to fall back asleep at this rate, so I might as well get up, _the dark brown tom thought, shaking scraps of moss and bracken from his fur.

Bramblestar padded out of his den and was immediately hit by a torrent of heavy rain. Bramblestar shrank back into his den and as best he could, stared out into the clearing. The smooth sandy clearing was now covered in dark red mud and puddles. Branches and leaves littered everywhere, and the fresh kill pile was completely wasted. "Great StarClan! I haven't seen a rain like this since I was an apprentice!"

Darting out of his den, Bramblestar made a dash towards the warriors den. He poked his head inside and saw most of his warriors huddled up together in the far side of the den. He noticed that the other half was pouring water, and the moss nests were completely soaked. "How long has it been storming like this? And is every cat okay?"

Brackenfur shouldered his way to the front of the den and beckoned Bramblestar to come inside. "It's been raining like this since a little before moonhigh. Every one is safe, but I'm afraid we might get sick..." he glanced back at his soaking-wet companions. "Bramblestar, what should we do?"

Bramblestar was silent. "Perhaps we should go rest in another den? Millie, you Brightheart can come sleep in my den. And-"

"The other dens are leaking too," Ivypool spoke up. "Cinderheart and her kits already had to move into the medicine cats den, and the elders are resting in the apprentices den, however it won't be too long before the roof on that den bursts as well..."

_Mouse-dung! Why didn't any cat wake me up earlier so I could deal with this?_ "I don't know..." he whispered.

Berrynose narrowed his eyes and said, "So we're just supposed to sit in here and freeze to death? We'll all catch greencough at this rate! I already lost Hazeltail to greencough; I don't need to lose anyone else to it!" Mews of agreement rose up from the cats.

"Well then, Berrynose. If you have a suggestion why don't you share it with us all?" Bramblestar demanded.

Berrynose was silent.

"That's what I thought. Look, I know that this is an uncomfortable situation, but for now there is nothing we can do about it. If some of you would like, you can come sleep in my den. And I'm sure Leafpool and Jayfeather can have at least one or two more cats go into their den. It should make a little bit more room in here for the rest of you." Bramblestar said. "Plus, the weather is so warm that I doubt that any one will catch any kind of illness. Millie, Brightheart, and Dovewing - you three go to my den. Spiderleg and Brackenfur can go into the medicine cats den," Bramblestar meowed.

The cats all split up and went their own separate ways. He heard Jayfeather give out a hiss of annoyance as more cats came barreling into his den, and Bramblestar couldn't help but let out a purr of amusement. Even though Jayfeather wasn't his real son, he never stopped thinking of the grumpy tom as his own. _If only Hollyleaf were still alive..._

Bramblestar led the three she-cats up to his den. As they were climbing, Dovewing slipped on a muddy rock and almost fell off the ledge, but Brightheart grabbed her just in time. Blood droplets fell from Dovewing's injured paw as she limped up the remaining slope. Bramblestar nudged her inside and he helped all three of them settle down towards the back of his den.

"Dovewing, are you alright?" Millie asked once she was settled down.

Dovewing just shrugged. "I guess." She curled her fluffy tail around her face and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Poor thing...ever since she lost her powers shes had a hard time coping," Brightheart murmured.

Bramblestar shot Dovewing a sympathetic glance and he then curled up close to the den entrance.

"Bramblestar, what are you going to do to protect Briarlight? If the camp floods-"

"The camp won't flood. Millie, look, I get that you're nervous, but I have enough to worry about right now. Briarlight is the Clan's first priority, so no matter what happens she will be cared for first. You don't have to worry about anything happening to her," Bramblestar snapped. _I understand that Millie is upset, but she worries too much. Briarlight is safe right now so there is no need to worry over something that hasn't even come close to happening. This is just a simple rainstorm that will pass on in a few hours. _

Millie just hissed and he could hear her angrily whispering something to Dovewing and Brightheart.

Bramblestar just ignored them and continued on with his watch. Suddenly blurry shapes burst in the camp clearing. Quick as lightning, Bramblestar raced to their aid.

Mousewhisker, Bumblestripe, Lilypaw, and Whitewing were standing there huddled in the rain. "Bramblestar, you've got to come with me! It's urgent!" Mousewhisker shrieked.

Bramblestar's heart began to thump wildly in his chest and a million thoughts raced through his mind. "What is it?" he demanded.

"It's the lake...please, just come and see!" the gray-and-white tom pleaded.

Bramblestar nodded and signaled for the other three cats to go to their dens. Together, Bramblestar and Mousewhisker raced through the forest towards the lake. The forest looked like a disaster due to the storm: branches and twigs littered the forest floor, some trees were almost completely stripped of their leaves, and here and there he could see a fallen tree.

The two toms weren't even half way to the lake when Bramblestar hit water. "W-What...this can't be! We aren't even close to the lake yet!"

"The water wasn't even this high when we came back to get you! It's rising higher and higher by the second. We have to do something otherwise we'll all drown!"

Bramblestar could hear blood rushing in his ears. The Clans had never encountered a storm this bad before...A loud _crack!_ sounded through the air and lightning landed very close to the ThunderClan toms. The sky began to darken even more, and Bramblestar realized that the dark storm clouds from earlier were finally upon the forest. _The worst of the storm hasn't even gotten here yet!_ he realized in a panic.

Mousewhisker and Bramblestar turned to head home. As they ran, the wind picked up. With each paw step, Bramblestar struggled to stand up. In fact, once or twice he and Mousewhisker were knocked to the ground by the wind. The rain progressively fell harder and harder to the point where neither of them could see.

"I think we're almost close to the hollow..." Mousewhisker yowled.

Bramblestar narrowed his eyes to see if he could pick up anything, but the whipping rain and howling wind blocked out all of his senses. Suddenly the earth shook and Bramblestar was tossed backwards. A shower of broken twigs and leaves fell on him and pierced his pelt. His amber eyes widened in horror as he looked up. A gigantic oak tree had fallen right in front of him! "Mousewhisker?"

"I'm safe on the other side." the gray-and-white tom called.

Bramblestar let out a sigh of relief. He slowly made his way over the fallen tree, and slowly he and his Clan mate made it back to the hollow. More debris had collected and he saw that a gigantic branch had fallen on the nursery. _Thank StarClan Cinderheart and the others moved earlier!_ Jumping up onto the High Ledge, Bramblestar called out, "The lake is flooding! We must evacuate immediately!"

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this story. After this is when the story REALLY gets different from the book. Something exciting and (hopefully) unexpected is coming up in the next chapter. What will that be? You'll just have to wait and see. Please review if you like there this story. I don't want to sound annoying or anything, but reviews really help me know if the readers are enjoying this or not. It really helps me out a lot so I would appreciate it if you left your comments on this story. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Bramblestar looked around the clearing wildly. The cats were taking their time, causing Bramblestar to become even more frustrated. "Hurry, this is an emergency!" he growled.

"What's going on?" Leafpool asked nervously.

"The lake is flooding. In fact, the water is almost to our camp as we speak. W-We need to evacuate now or we will all drown! And not to mention the wind from this storm is so strong that trees are being pulled out of the ground left and right. We aren't safe here!"

An eruption of shocked cries and gasps rang out. Cats began panicking; he could see Cinderheart and Lionblaze gathering their daughters together, and Brackenfur was comforting Lilypaw and Seedpaw.

"Where are we going to go?" Thornclaw called out.

"Yeah, where will we go to shelter from the storm? And what about Briarlight? She'll never make it! If she dies I'll never forgive you, Bramblestar," Millie hissed. A chorus of agreement rose up from some of the cats.

"We should go stay in the tunnels," Lionblaze suggested loudly. "It's the only place that we could go to get out of the rain and wind. Plus we'd be safe from falling trees and branches."

Jayfeather's blind blue eyes widened in absolute horror. "No, we absolutely cannot go into the tunnels! Lionblaze, you know they flood. We'd be in immense danger down there...Maybe going to the abandoned Twoleg nest would be the best option."

Ivypool shook her head. "The Twoleg nest is too dangerous. If a tree falls on it, it'll crush us all. And if the water does get as high as the hollow, then it wouldn't be long til the water reached there as well. The tunnels are our best option."

Bramblestar nodded. "The tunnels it is then." He glanced up at the black sky and realized they didn't have much more time to sit around talking about this. Big branches were already beginning to fall into the hollow, and the ground was so soaked with water that it couldn't hold anymore, causing big puddles to form. He carefully made sure that every cat was accounted for, and then signaled his tail for his Clan to follow Lionblaze. Bramblestar took up the back, and before he left he made sure that all the dens were empty.

When he padded out of the camp, he noticed that the water was already making its way towards the hollow. _Thank StarClan we left when we did!_ He thought.

Bramblestar ran through the forest, trying to catch up with his Clan. Here and there branches fell, and he could hear a tree falling in the distance. Soon he could make out blurry shapes in the rain and he saw his Clan mates making their way towards the tunnels.

"Is everyone here?" He called when he got close enough to them. He scanned the group for Briarlight and saw her being carried by both Millie and Bumblestripe. _Good. She's safe. _

"Everyone's here," Sandstorm spoke up.

Bramblestar nodded and signaled for the Clan to pick up the pace. As they continued on, the storm got extremely worst. The wind completely knocked the cats down and there were times when they couldn't even stand back up for periods of time. The group had to essentially crawl to get to the their shelter, and several of them ended up cutting themselves on debris that was lying around on the forest floor.

Soon the tunnel entrance came into sight and Bramblestar let out a silent thanks to StarClan. One by one the Clan made their way down the long and dark tunnel into one of the main caves.

"I want Lionblaze and Ivypool to begin scouting the tunnels for any leaking before we settle down. Come back _immediately_ if you see any water down here. I don't want to take any chances," he ordered.

Lionblaze and Ivypool nodded and split up to go exploring.

Bramblestar flopped down towards one of the walls of the cave and began grooming his wet fur. He felt so exhausted, but he knew he couldn't go to sleep until all of his Clan mates were safe and comfortable.

The sound of paw steps soon alerted Bramblestar, and he saw Graystripe and Blossomfall rushing towards them with the most terrified look on their faces. "Bramblestar - Millie, Bumblestripe and Briarlight are missing!" Graystripe warned. His yellow eyes were wide with fear and his fur was fluffed out.

Bramblestar's heart began to beat wildly. He had promised Millie that he wouldn't let Briarlight die, and now Millie and two of her kits were lost...or possibly dead. "T-The storm must have separated them from the group. I'll go out and find them. White-"

"No, I'll go," Blossomfall interrupted sharply.

"Absolutely not, Blossomfall. This storm is way too dangerous and I'm not going to let you go out there. You need to stay here with your father," Bramblestar ordered.

"Don't you care about them? They'll die if we don't do something," Blossomfall argued.

"I do care. It's just that there is nothing we can do. It's too dangerous to send a search party out there to go find them. Millie and Bumblestripe are smart cats and I'm sure they'll find their way here. In fact, they could be coming down the tunnel right now," Bramblestar said.

Graystripe let out a deep sigh before meowing, "Bramblestar is right, Blossomfall. It's way too dangerous to go looking for them. I'm sure they'll come back soon. Until then there is nothing we can do."

Blossomfall's eyes burned with rage. "I'm going to save my family. This may be my only chance to ever get Millie's praise, and I'm not going to waste it. I have to show her that I _do_ love her and Briarlight...that I love my entire family!" And with that, Blossomfall turned and darted through the tunnel.

Graystripe's eyes widened in fear and he cried out, "Blossomfall, no!"

"You wait here. I'll get her back," Bramblestar promised. Without waiting for an answer, he darted through the tunnel and raced after Blossomfall. The cave walls pressed at his sides and he became aware of the pounds of rock hanging above his head which slowed him down even more. No matter how fast he ran, he just couldn't catch up with the tortoiseshell she-cat.

Soon he spotted the light from the entrance and broke out into the storming forest. Luckily, Briarlight and the others had neared the tunnel, however he could see blood running down Bumblestripe's shoulder and Briarlight's eyes was swollen. Blossomfall was making her way towards her littermates and mother.

Bramblestar started to make his way towards the group, but the sound of loud groaning and creaking stopped him in his tracks. He glanced around and saw that a beech tree was being dislodged by the wind and the rain, and it wouldn't be long before it toppled down right onto them all.

"We're never going to make it!" Millie shrieked.

"Yes, you will. Millie, Blossomfall, go! I'll take Briarlight myself," Bumblestripe offered.

"No, Bumblestripe. Let me help you two," Blossomfall told them.

Millie just hissed at her and said something that Bramblestar couldn't pick up, but he could tell it wasn't something friendly. Blossomfall ignored it though and the the three cats hurried along, each with Briarlight across their backs. The tree groaned again and leaned down ever father, causing Briarlight to scream out in fear. The cats picked up as much speed as they could and it wasn't long til they were close enough to the tunnel entrance. Bramblestar stood there, waiting to help them. He kept watching the tree to make sure it wouldn't fall. It was dangerously close to losing it ground, and Bramblestar's heart pumped wildly in his chest. He could hear his blood roaring in his ears and he worried he would lose all four cats.

When they reached the entrance, Bramblestar padded out and helped them get Briarlight safely down into the tunnel. _We just might make it! _

Then a loud groan sounded, and a mighty _snap!_ rang through the air. The beech tree came tumbling down. Blossomfall's eyes darted from the tree to her family, and she roughly pushed both Bumblestripe and Millie into the tunnel.

Bramblestar was shoved backwards along with another cat, and together they tumbled down through the long tunnel. A blood curdling scream rang through the air and Bramblestar's heart dropped into his chest.

The other cat leaped up immediately after hearing that and together the two of them ran back to the entrance. Two shapes were huddled by the entrance, and branches completely blocked this way out. "BRIARLIGHT? ARE YOU HERE? PLEASE, TELL ME YOU'RE SAFE!" The cat - Millie - cried out.

"She's here..." Bumblestripe meowed hoarsely, "but...Blossomfall..." he broke off and Bramblestar saw he had a haunted look on his face.

Millie stopped covering Briarlight in licks and stared at Bumblestripe worriedly. "W-What about Blossomfall?" she whispered.

"Blossomfall is dead, Millie."

Bramblestar sank to the ground and just sat there, completely shocked. _She gave her life up to save her family..._

Millie let out an angry scream and she lashed her tail wildly. "She can't be! Oh StarClan no. No, no, no, NO! Oh Blossomfall..."

Bumblestripe and Briarlight made their way over to Millie and pressed up against their mother. Millie just sat there screaming and shaking, and Bramblestar's heart broke. _Poor Millie..._

"What happened?!" Graystripe demanded as he ran up. "We heard screaming...please tell me Briarlight is okay."

Bramblestar gave the gray elder a sympathetic look and took a deep breath. "It's Blossomfall. She didn't make it. I'm so sorry, Graystripe."

Graystripe's eyes widened and he hung his head down in shame. "She can't be...I should have done more to stop her. It's all my fault she died... Oh why, oh why? I promised myself that I wouldn't let another cat I loved die. I already lost Silverstream and Feathertail, and now I've lost Blossomfall!"

Bramblestar's heart ached for the grieving family. "It's not your fault, Graystripe. It's no ones fault. Blossomfall died an honorable death. She saved the lives of her family members. No one will ever forget that." He stood up and he nudged the cats in the direction of the cave.

Slowly the grieving cats made their way back to the main cave. Bramblestar explained to them what had happened to Blossomfall and together the entire Clan mourned for her.

Graystripe, Bumblestripe and Briarlight were all curled around Millie and were whispering to her, trying to comfort her. "I'm such an awful mother. All I ever did was yell at her and now she's dead! I can't believe this. Oh, Blossomfall...I'm so sorry. If you can hear me I hope you forgive me for what I did to you. I always loved you no matter what, and I'm so sorry for what I did to you."

"Oh Millie," Daisy meowed, walking up to the silver tabby. She rested her plumy tail across Millie's shoulders and said, "Blossomfall knows that you loved her. She wouldn't want you to be so upset. She would want you to be happy that she's in a better place now. I bet she's up there playing with Hazeltail and Toadstep right now."

Several cats mewed in agreement, and one-by-one they made their way towards the grieving family in order to share their condolences.

The cats sat there and mourned for their lost home and for Blossomfall that night.

"Everyone," Briarlight suddenly called out, breaking the silence, "if I may, I'd like to make a speech about my sister."

"That would be lovely," Dovewing whispered.

"Yeah, go for it!" Amberpaw called out.

Briarlight nodded and waited for the Clan to grow silent once more before beginning. "My sister, Blossomfall, was the greatest sister a cat could ever ask for. I don't blame Blossomfall for how she felt. In fact, I completely understand. Despite what many think, Blossomfall was a great cat and she was always very kind to me. Blossomfall, if you can hear me, I just want to say thank you so much for saving us. I really appreciate that and I will never forget what you did for me and our family. Even though I cannot walk and that I don't know if I'll make it to see another day, I will uphold your memory each and every day I have left. Thank you so much, and may you rest in peace in StarClan."

"Blossomfall! Blossomfall!" Blossomfall!" ThunderClan cried out.

A loud purr rose out in Bumblestripe's throat and he nuzzled Briarlight. "I couldn't have said it any better myself."

* * *

**Aw, poor Blossomfall! I really like her, so it was hard killing her off. I've always wanted her to have an honorable death though, and I think that saving her family would be the best way to go. Also thank you to every one who is supporting this story. It means the world to me! **

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The loud sound of roaring water woke Bramblestar from his nap. He slowly rose from his nest and noticed that most of the Clan was awake as well.

Jayfeather, who was pacing back and forth, looked absolutely tormented by having to be underground. His jay-blue eyes were as big as the full moon, and his fur was fluffed up making him look almost as big and strong as his brother, Lionblaze. Bramblestar could faintly hear him muttering things under his breath, and he decided to go comfort the gray tabby tom.

"Jayfeather, are you okay?" Bramblestar questioned. He knew that Jayfeather wasn't okay, but he hoped that he could possibly calm the tom down in some way.

Jayfeather stopped pacing and snapped, "Do I _look_ like I'm okay? Coming down here was absolutely the worst idea any cat could have come up with. A newborn kit has enough sense to know that you don't go underground during a flood, especially into a tunnel system that has been known to fill up with water in these weather conditions and kill cats!" He turned away from Bramblestar and kept pacing back and forth.

Bramblestar took a deep breath. _Maybe Jayfeather is right. Perhaps we should move somewhere else, but where would we even go?_ He glanced around the cavern at his Clan and he then rested his gaze onto Briarlight. "Millie, Graystripe. Can you come here please?"

Graystripe rose to his paws and he nosed Millie up. The silver tabby moved sluggishly across the cavern and her eyes were dull with grief. "What is it, Bramblestar?" Graystripe wondered.

"I want you two to take Briarlight and Jayfeather and go to one of the tunnel entrances in case the tunnels start flooding. That way you can get them out the fastest and we won't have to worry about something serious happening to them. Lionblaze will show you where to go, okay?" Bramblestar ordered. He then called Lionblaze over and explained to him what he wanted.

The golden tom nodded and together he, Millie, and Graystripe rounded Briarlight and Jayfeather up and disappeared into a tunnel.

Now that the two most vulnerable cats had gone, Bramblestar sat and kept watch over the rest of his Clan. All of his warriors looked as if they hadn't sleep in a moon and their fur was matted and wet. Cinderheart's kits were crying for food, but sadly the queen had none to offer. Leafpool was rushing around wildly trying to attend to the entire Clan, however without any proper herbs, there wasn't much she could do to help any one.

"Attention, everyone," Bramblestar yowled. Once the cavern was silent he continued, "I would like everyone to get some rest right now. I know that things have been hard, but you're all exhausted and wounded. You all need some sleep. Cherryfall, Ivypool and I will keep watch and if anything happens we will wake you up."

"Can I help too? I want to prove to everyone that I'm useful too, even without my powers," Dovewing called out.

"No, Dovewing. I want you to get some rest. You-"

"No, I want to help! I feel so deaf and useless without my powers, and now I want to do something to show my Clan mates that I can still be helpful. Please, please, please," Dovewing pleaded.

Bramblestar nodded reluctantly. "Very well, Dovewing. You may help. As for the rest of you, I want you to all be asleep. No excuses!"

Slowly the Clan cats settled down and got as comfortable as they possibly could. Birchfall headed over to Whitewing and the two cats sat there sharing tongues until they both fell asleep. All the apprentices were huddled up together making them look like one gigantic furball. Squirrelflight, Leafpool and Sandstorm were all sitting close together and Sandstorm was drawing her tongue over her daughters' ears. Leafpool purred in her sleep and began to knead against Squirrelflight's side.

A small purr rose up in Bramblestar's throat as he watched his Clan get comfortable. _Thank you StarClan for keeping them all safe. I ask that no more ThunderClan cats will join your ranks tonight._

* * *

The cavern was completely silent except for the sound of breathing cats and the occasional snore. Bramblestar strained his ears to try and pick up any sound of water, but he could hear nothing.

Suddenly Cherryfall leaped up and began waving her tail wildly towards the tunnel that was closest to her. "I hear something!" she shrieked.

Bramblestar leaped up from his position immediately and raced over to the tunnel. Sure enough, there was a strange sound coming from inside. Ivypool and Dovewing, who had just gathered, could hear it too.

"It doesn't sound like water to me," Ivypool hissed. "It sounds like-"

Before Ivypool could answer, a cascade of WindClan cats came pouring into the cavern, knocking the guards back. By now, the ThunderClan cats had stirred and were looking around wildly.

"Onestar! What in the name of StarClan are you doing here?" Bramblestar demanded, pushing his way through the crowd of cats.

Onestar's amber eyes were wide with fear and he answered, "It's the storm, Bramblestar. It's completely destroyed the forest!"

Gasps of shock came from the surprised ThunderClan cats and they began murmuring to one another.

"W-What do you mean?" Bramblestar demanded, lashing his tail. His heart began to beat wildly in his chest and his mind wandered to Tawnypelt and her kits. Were they safe?

"RiverClan and ShadowClan are completely underwater. We couldn't even see the trees in RiverClan territory when we evacuated our camp. The water is rising so much that before long, WindClan camp will be under too."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Squirrelflight cried, walking up. "Are all your cats okay?"

Onestar shook his head solemnly and whispered, "I wish I were lying, but sadly it's true." The WindClan leader glanced back at his warriors and for a moment Bramblestar thought he was going to avoid Squirrelflight's question, but to his surprise he answered, "We lost Whiskernose and Oatpaw. The two just couldn't escape in time..." he trailed off.

"Oh, Onestar that's awful. I'm so sorry," Squirrelflight sighed, her tail drooping.

Bramblestar hunched his shoulders and stared down at his dirty paws. "This is the worst storm I think the Clans have ever seen. How will we ever cope?" he whispered.

Onestar snapped his head up and barred his teeth in a snarl. "WindClan is strong, and no matter what happens I will make sure that my Clan is kept safe! I'll give up every life I have left in order to keep the legacy of WindClan going. We will _not_ be wiped out by a flood." and with that, he turned and stalked away.

Bramblestar watched him go without saying anything. He felt Squirrelflight brush against him and she said, "Bramblestar, I'll take over your shift now. You go to sleep."

Without arguing, Bramblestar nodded and found an empty spot on the floor. He clamped his amber eyes shut and soon found himself in a dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Bramblestar! Bramblestar, hurry you've got to get up! It's an emergency!" Birchfall shrieked as he frantically shook the ThunderClan leader awake.

Bramblestar sprang from his sleeping spot and looked around wildly. "What's going on?"

"The tunnels are flooding. We've got to evacuate now!" Birchfall explained, his voice full of panic.

Bramblestar glanced around and tried to make sure that every cat was here, but due to all of the panicking cats rushing around it was nearly impossible. He had no time to worry about who was safe and who was not, because by now, water was gushing into the cavern from three different tunnels, and on top of that the roof was beginning to leak.

Bramblestar saw Spiderleg's black tail disappear down one of the tunnels and he figured that was the escape route. He darted after the black warrior and they ran blindly down the dark and long tunnel. He could hear several cats up ahead of him and a few cats behind him.

Bramblestar's heart was beating so frantically that he thought it would actually explode. He could hear is blood roaring in his ears, and it sounded louder than a crack of lightning. He soon began to hear the roaring of water behind them and he tried to run faster, but without his eye sight it was almost impossible to know where he was even going.

"Run faster!" he yowled ahead, putting on an extra burst of speed. Soon a faint crack of light shined up ahead, and the Clan cats darted out of the tunnel and into the forest. Bramblestar collapsed onto the ground and began panting wildly. He could barley catch his breath and he was scared out of his mind.

It was still storming out, but no where near as bad as it was earlier. He scanned the unfamiliar forest for any shelter, and he spotted a fallen tree propped up by a bolder. There was some bushes and brambles that surrounded the tree, and he figured that would be enough shelter for now. Bramblestar slowly guided the Clan cats that were present over to their new shelter and he waited for them to get comfortable before he called role.

"Is everyone here?" he asked, sweeping his gaze across the ThunderClan and WindClan cats.

"Whitewing, Thornclaw, Snowpaw, Rosepetal and Sandstorm are missing..." Poppyfrost announced sadly. The tortoiseshell she-cat quickly glanced around at the cats to see if she could have somehow been mistaken, but sadly the cats she had called were no where to be found.

"I swear that I saw Rosepetal and Snowpaw behind me..." Lilypaw whimpered.

Brackenfur rested his golden-brown tail onto his daughter's back and mewed, "Perhaps they escaped through a different tunnel. I'm sure that they'll be fine and that we will find them."

Lilypaw just lowered her head and her sister, Seedpaw, pressed up against her.

"If you'd like, I could go back and possibly look for them," Squirrelflight offered, walking up to Bramblestar.

Bramblestar shook his head. "Absolutely not, Squirrelflight. It's way too dangerous. Besides, the tunnels are all blocked with mud and water. Right now I want you to see if you can help the Clan out in any way and make sure that they're all okay. They're probably traumatized and they'll need as much comfort as they can get right now."

Squirrelflight bowed her head and padded over to Dewpaw, Amberpaw and Brightheart.

A paw gently poked Bramblestar in the side and his attention was averted towards Whitetail, the WindClan elder. "Bramblestar," she began, her voice shaking with fear, "I can't find Onestar, Nightcloud, Harespring, or Leaftail anywhere. Can we please go look for them?"

Bramblestar hesitated for a moment but nodded. Together he and Whitetail headed back out into the rain and the searched around the forest closest to the tunnel. They searched til the light began to fade, making it harder to see. Sadly there was no sign of Onestar or any of the other missing cats.

"We have to head back. It's too dangerous right now to keep looking for him. I promise that once the storm passes we will go back and search. Does that sound good?" Bramblestar asked Whitetail.

Whitetail shrugged and started to pad back to their shelter. "So much death and destruction has happened in these last few moons. I'm starting to wonder if Clan life is even worth it anymore..."

Bramblestar rested his tail on her shoulders and mewed, "Of course Clan life is worth it. No matter how many hardships we face, the Clans will always be able to get through it. We can't let this storm get to us. We just have to have faith and carry on strong."

Whitetail angrily pulled away from Bramblestar and spat, "How can you say that? There's so much death and destruction going on all the time. I'm sick of seeing young cats being slaughtered in battles over nothing. And having to watch newborn kits die because their mothers have no milk for them. I'm sick of it, Bramblestar. Sick of it! These cats die for absolutely nothing yet it continues on and on and on and on! It's ridiculous and I've had enough." Whitetail's claws were unsheathed now and Bramblestar took a few steps back in case she lunged at him.

"Whitetail...take it easy. I-I didn't mean-"

"No, _you_ take it easy! You don't know what it's like! You stupid, mouse-brained fool!" Whitetail lashed her tail back and forth and began ripping grass out of the ground. Several cats were staring at her, but none of them made any effort to come calm the elder down.

Then Heathertail rose to her paws and slowly walked over to her mother. "Whitetail, please calm down. Here, come sit by me," she murmured. Heathertail began to lick her mother's shoulder and she guided the old she-cat over to a dry spot and talked quietly to her.

Bramblestar watched the two she-cats go with a heavy heart. _Poor Whitetail..._

"Bramblestar, you look exhausted. I think you should go lay down. I don't want you to over work yourself," Squirrelflight said softly.

"The last time I fell asleep the tunnels flooded," Bramblestar retorted, wrapping his tabby tail around his paws.

Squirrelflight took a deep breath and replied, "It isn't your fault that those cats died. In fact, we don't even _know_ that they're dead or not. For all we know, they could be alive in another part of the forest. We can't give up hope. Now please, get some rest."

Squirrelflight nosed him over to a spot under their shelter and began to groom his fur. The rhythm of her licks began to put Bramblestar to sleep, and before he knew it he was out.

* * *

**First of all, I would like to give a big thanks to The Mystical Palm for all of the reviews and help you've given me! You should really go check out their story, 'Blackbirds'. It's amazing! Second of all, thank you for all of the views and support that you readers have given this story. It means the world to me. I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope that I did the tunnel-flooding justice. Do you think that the missing cats have made it out alive, or do you think that they've all drown? **

**Thanks for reading!**


	12. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The sound of birds chirping woke Bramblestar, and for a second he thought that he was still dreaming, but sure enough this was real. The storm was over!

He rose from his grassy nest and padded out from underneath the fallen tree shelter. His amber eyes widened at all of the destruction that the storm had caused. Many trees in the forest had been uprooted by the wind and rain, and most leaves had been pulled off their branches, causing the forest look as if it were the middle of leafbare. Bramblestar also noticed many foreign objects littering the ground, and he presumed that they were Twoleg things that had been blown away in the storm. Some of the things looked quite dangerous, so he made a mental note to himself to forbid the kits from leaving the shelter so they wouldn't get hurt.

"It's awful, isn't it? Just imagine how things are at the lake. Imagine our home..." a rough voice spoke.

Bramblestar stood there for a few seconds and then turned to see Berrynose standing there. The cream colored tom had a grim look on his face and his shoulders were hunched.

"Yeah. It's truly a disaster..." Bramblestar muttered. He tried to picture what the camp would look like now, but it was too painful.

"Rosepetal..." Berrynose began, "do you think...do you think she lived?" Berrynose stopped looking down at his paws and he gazed into Bramblestar's eyes. "I'm so scared to even think about her being..." he broke off, "dead. I've already lost Hazeltail and Toadstep to the sickness, and with Molewhisker sick like he is..."

Bramblestar felt a pang of sadness in his chest. His mind wandered to Tawnypelt, Tigerheart and Dawnpelt. If they were dead, he didn't know what he'd do. "Berrynose, we just can't assume that Rosepetal is dead. There are several tunnels that lead out into the open, so I'm sure that some of the missing cats had to have made it out alive. As for Molewhisker, I'm sure he'll be just fine. Leafpool, Jayfeather and Kestrelflight are monitoring all of the cats who got water and mud into their lungs very closely, so I'm sure that they'll be able to save him."

_How can I expect these cats to be optimistic when I'm doubting things myself?_ No matter how painful it was to admit, Bramblestar knew that it wasn't possible for every missing cat to come out alive. Some of them _were_ dead. He pushed the thought away and headed back to the shelter of the fallen tree.

"Squirrelflight, Crowfeather," he called to the two warriors, "have any hunting patrols gone out today?"

Squirrelflight shook her head. "I haven't sent any out yet."

"And none have gone out for WindClan either. Since Onestar and Harespring are both missing, Kestrelflight has been in charge but he doesn't know how to organize any patrols," Crowfeather responded.

Bramblestar nodded, "Okay then. Squirrelflight, I want you to take Poppyfrost, Bumblestripe, Seedpaw, Weaselfur-"

"Hold on a second, Bramblestar. Weaselfur is in WindClan. You can't use our warriors to hunt for yourself. We may be sheltering together, but we're separate Clans and we always will be," Crowfeather hissed. His green eyes were narrowed in annoyance. "And don't even think you're in control of our Clan just because our leader is missing. We will never take orders from a ThunderClan cat!"

_He's Jayfeather's father all right_, Bramblestar thought irritably. "Okay, okay. I get it. No need to get your fur ruffled for StarClan's sake. You can organize your own patrols if you want. I was just trying to be helpful."

"WindClan doesn't need to rely on ThunderClan for everything," Crowfeather retorted hotly.

"Crowfeather, Bramblestar's not trying to control WindClan. He just wants to help out. We're both helpless at the moment and we need to act together as one, not as enemies. Whatever the future holds, we can't be going at each others throats," Leafpool mewed softly. She gazed into Crowfeather's eyes and the gray WindClan warrior turned away with an embarrassed look on his face.

"I guess you're right, Leafpool. I'm sorry for getting ornery, Bramblestar. You can take Weaselfur on your patrol if you want to, I guess. I'll send out Emberfoot, Larkwing, Featherpaw, and Gorsetail for mine." As Crowfeather padded away to collect the cats for his patrol, he turned and stared at Leafpool for a few moments before walking away.

Leafpool gave him a small smile and waved her tail in good bye, before walking away herself.

_They clearly still have feelings for each other, even if they don't want to admit it_, Bramblestar realized.

Squirrelflight must have noticed it too, for she mewed, "Did you see that?"

"I did," he began, but quickly changed the subject, "but we don't have time to worry about that right now. We need to get some prey right away, otherwise some of our cats might starve to death."

Squirrelflight dipped her head before scampering off to go find the cats for her patrol.

The two patrols weren't out for very long before they came back. Seedpaw's head was drooping and her tail was dragging along the ground, and Weaselfur managed to carry a small mouse in his mouth. Larkwing from Crowfeather's patrol had managed to get a squirrel, but it was so small and bony that there was barely a mouthful on it.

"I'm really sorry, Bramblestar. We really tried to bring back as much prey as we could, but we could barely even find any," Seedpaw whimpered. The young she-cat looked so disappointed in herself that it hurt Bramblestar.

"Seedpaw, I know you did your best. These are tough circumstances that we're under right now, so don't beat yourself up over this. You did your best and that is all that matters, okay?" he mewed, wrapping his tail around her shoulders.

Seedpaw just shook her head slowly and muttered, "Okay."

Bramblestar gave her a smile and nosed her to her paws. He nudged her in the direction of her sister, Lilypaw, and hoped that she would help make Seedpaw feel better.

Seeing that the prey was being taken to the elders and queens first, he turned and padded into the forest to see if he could hunt. Due to the unfamiliar landscape as well as all the debris, hunting was a challenge. And to be honest, the ThunderClan leader had many things on his mind that he couldn't concentrate. He wondered how RiverClan and ShadowClan were, and he wondered about the missing cats. He wondered about how long it would take for the flood water to recede all the way back down to the lake, and he wondered how long it would take to rebuild the camp..._if_ they could even return to their camp at all.

Suddenly Bramblestar walked right into a bunch of flood water, immediately taking him out of his thoughts. He jumped back and gasped at the sight. Due to his day dreams, he hadn't even realized that he had wandered all the way back to ThunderClan territory. _I've barely crossed the border,_ he realized with a shock, _and the water has reached all the way up here! Maybe I can get close enough to the camp to see if it's been completely destroyed or not._

Bramblestar tried to wade through the water, but it eventually got to deep for him and he had to turn around to avoid drowning. Along the way back to their makeshift camp, he managed to catch a frog. ThunderClan cats didn't usually prey upon frogs, but in this situation, the idea of eating his catch was the most appetizing thing ever.

"Bramblestar, where have you been? We've been looking for you everywhere!" Squirrelflight yelled, running up to him as he approached the shelter.

"I went out hunting. Oh, Squirrelflight. You wouldn't believe it. The water has risen nearly all the way to the border. I tried to head towards the hollow, but the water was so deep I couldn't even get close."

Squirrelflight's green eyes widened and she gasped, "You mean our entire territory is underwater?"

He shook his head slowly. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

"What? You've got to be kidding me! Bramblestar, what will we do?" Mousewhisker shrieked, padding up.

"Yeah, our territory will be completely ruined," Amberpaw piped in sadly.

A chorus of mews broke out and soon every one in both Clans had heard the news.

"For now, there's nothing we can do. ThunderClan and WindClan will just have to stay here until the water levels have gone down. It's way too dangerous for us to return to our homes, so living here for a while is our only option," he replied sadly. "Have any of the missing been found?"

Several cats let out 'no's causing Bramblestar's heart to sink in his chest.

"We'll keep looking for them," he promised quietly.

* * *

It had been four sunrises since the storm had stopped, and ThunderClan and WindClan were barely scraping by. Prey was so scarce that there were days that most of them didn't even get to eat a mouthful. And sadly, like Berrynose had predicted, his son, Molewhisker, had died. During the tunnel flood, the young tom had gotten trapped in a mud slide, causing his lungs to fill up with mud and debris. He had been pulled out alive, but his condition was so bad that there was really no hope for him. No matter how much the medicine cats did for him, it wasn't enough to save his life. Briarlight also wasn't doing so well. The brown she-cat's lungs had started to fill up with fluid, and she would sit there coughing for long periods of time. Jayfeather tried to get her to do her exercises, but her body just couldn't handle it.

The only good thing that had happened recently was that the water had gone down just a little bit, and Rosepetal had been found, but even then the news wasn't entirely happy. Rosepetal had a serious, infected, belly wound presumed to be caused by debris, and her lungs were filled with water. She was in critical condition and Leafpool had told Daisy that she didn't think Rosepetal would live for much longer.

Bramblestar was sitting on top of the fallen tree and was staring out at the tiny clearing that surrounded their shelter. Hollykit and Sorrelkit were wrestling with one another, while Fernkit just sort of sat there still and slumped down. While all three she-kits were tiny and had their ribs showing, Fernkit's small size was quite worrisome, and Bramblestar wondered if the little gray tabby would be okay.

Her mother, Cinderheart, was trying to get Fernkit to play with her siblings, but the little bundle of fur just sat there quietly. "Please, Fernkit," Cinderheart begged, "get up and go play with your sisters."

Fernkit didn't reply though, and she slowly laid down in the grass and curled up into a tight ball. Her tiny stomach started rumbling, causing Cinderheart to yowl out in grief.

Hopping down from the fallen tree, Bramblestar headed over to Cinderheart. "If you'd like, I could go see if Sedgewhisker has some milk she can spare. I'm sure she wouldn't mind sharing some with Fernkit," he offered.

"Oh no," Cinderheart refused, shaking her head vigorously, "I couldn't possibly ask Sedgewhisker to give up her milk for my kit." Cinderheart glanced down at Fernkit and curled her fluffy tail around her daughter. Her blue eyes were filled with so much pain and sadness.

"It won't hurt to ask though," Bramblestar insisted. "Here, let me go ask her right now." And with that he turned and padded under the fallen tree.

Sedgewhisker and her two surviving kits were curled towards the end of the tree that was closest to the ground. He had to duck down to get close enough to the WindClan queen. Holding out a paw, he gently shook her awake.

"Wha-? Oh, it's you. What do you want?" she yawned, and then began to lick her paw and draw it over her ear.

"I'm really sorry to bother you like this, but I'd like to ask you a very important favor. Cinderheart's milk has dried up, and her daughter, Fernkit, is on the brink of starvation. Do you think you could-"

"Of course she can have some of my milk," Sedgewhisker interrupted happily, giving him a warm smile. "It won't be long before Mudkit and Doekit are eating fresh kill, so I have plenty to spare."

Bramblestar started to purr so much that his body shook. "Oh thank you so much, Sedgewhisker!" His body was filled with so much happiness that he moved too quickly and hit his head on the tree trunk.

"Careful now!" Sedgewhisker laughed.

Bramblestar flicked his tail to signal that he had heard, and he dashed out into the clearing and ran to Cinderheart. "She said she'd take Fernkit in," he purred.

Cinderheart began covering him in happy licks and she purred, "Oh, Bramblestar. I don't know how I'll ever pay you back! H-Hurry and take her."

Bramblestar bent his head and carefully grabbed Fernkit by the scruff of her neck. He carried her to Sedgewhisker and placed her down right next to the WindClan queen's belly. Fernkit let out a happy squeak and plowed her face into Sedgewhisker's soft, brown belly. Doekit and Mudkit stared at the unfamiliar kit with big eyes. "Who is that?" Doekit asked.

Sedgewhisker explained to them what was going on and the two kits just sat there looking excited. Turning back to Bramblestar she mewed, "I promise I'll take good care of her."

Bramblestar dipped his head in thanks and padded out. "I promise I'll bring you the juiciest prey I can find!" And with that he headed out into the forest to hunt.

* * *

_Tawnypelt ran through the forest at full speed. Brown water crashed after her, sending pine trees crashing to the ground. Up ahead she could see her Clan mates running through the forest, trying to escape the flood. _

_No matter how fast the tortoiseshell warrior ran, she just couldn't escape the water that was right behind her. Suddenly a big wave rose over her head and crashed down on top of her. _

_Tawnypelt flailed her legs, trying to get to the surface, but she was hopelessly lost. Her lungs screamed for air and they felt like they would explode any minute now. Suddenly something big and heavy crashed into her side, pinning her up against a tree. _

_Tawnypelt tried to free herself, but it was useless. Her lungs were on fire now, and she could feel herself getting dizzier and dizzier. Suddenly her world started to go black, and everything was still..._

Bramblestar jumped up from his nest, panting wildly. It was the second time he had had that dream about Tawnypelt, and he was starting to worry that it meant something was wrong with his sister.

"Are you okay?" Hootpaw asked, dropping his bundle of wet moss down. The WindClan apprentice's eyes were wide in shock and he awkwardly mewed, "I...er...brought you a drink."

"Thanks," Bramblestar panted. He padded over to the moss and began licking the moisture from it. He closed his amber eyes and then looked up at the young tom. His dream replayed over and over again in his mind. _I think it's a sign from StarClan. Something isn't right with the other two Clans._ "Can you get Whitetail for me, please?"

Hootpaw looked a little confused, but he turned and ran off to go search for Whitetail. A few moments later he returned with her.

"What is it?" Whitetail wondered, sitting down a few steps from him.

"Whitetail, I have a bad feeling about ShadowClan and RiverClan. I-I really think we need to go see what's going on with them immediately. If we wait any longer, I fear that they'll be completely wiped out."

* * *

**So much has happened this chapter, both good and bad. Do you think Briarlight, Rosepetal and Fernkit will make it? Or do you think something awful will happen to them? And do you think Tawnypelt is really dead like in Bramblestar's dream, or do you think she's made it out alive? What cats from RiverClan and ShadowClan do you think have died from the flood? I will say right now that a very important ShadowClan had has died, but who that cat is is a secret. You'll just have to wait and see what happens for the next few chapters! **


	13. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Whitetail's eyes widened and then narrowed. "Wiped out? Bramblestar, what do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said," he responded sharply. "For the past few nights I keep having a nightmare involving ShadowClan. Each time, Tawnypelt got trapped against a tree and drowned. I think it's some sort of sign or warning from StarClan telling us to go help the other Clans."

Whitetail was nodding her head slowly as if she were lost in thought. "I see. But how do you know that it's a sign and not just a regular nightmare?"

"I don't," Bramblestar replied slowly, "but even if it's not, it wouldn't hurt to go visit them and make sure things are okay. They might really need our help."

Whitetail was silent for a little while, but then she mewed, "Very well...but why tell me?"

"I want you to come with me, Whitetail," Bramblestar answered.

Whitetail let out a gasp of surprise. "What?! Me? Why, Bramblestar? I'm so old...surely a younger cat like Heathertail or Lionblaze would be best," she argued.

Taking a deep breath, Bramblestar replied, "Whitetail, you're the oldest cat in WindClan now, which means that you would represent WindClan the best. The other Clans know you well and would respect your authority."

"Y-you really think so?" she whispered. Without waiting for Bramblestar to answer she said, "I'll come along. If you really think the other Clans are in need, I want to do whatever I can to help them."

A purr rose up in Bramblestar's throat. "Great! Let's go announce this to the Clans."

Together, Bramblestar and Whitetail scrambled up onto the fallen tree. "Let both Clans gather for a meeting!"

As soon as all the ThunderClan and WindClan cats were gathered, Bramblestar yowled, "For the past few nights, I have been receiving a dream about ShadowClan in dire need of help. I think it is a sign from StarClan that we must go and see if RiverClan and ShadowClan survived the storm. Whitetail and I have agreed to go to find them and make sure they are okay."

"I should have expected this sooner or later. ThunderClan's always thought they were the saviors of the forest. Let RiverClan and ShadowClan care for themselves. If they get wiped out, who cares? It's survival of the fittest now and if they died then that's too bad! It shouldn't be up to us to save their behinds every time something happens," Crouchfoot spat, lashing his ginger tail back and forth.

Berrynose was nodding his head as if he agreed. "Yeah, why is it always up to us to save everyone? We should worry about our selves right now and not every one else. Have you forgotten that my son just died and my sister is on the brink of death?"

The fur along Bramblestar's spine began to rise, but he held his tongue. "This isn't the time for arguing. We must put borders aside and work together as one. How would you feel if we needed help and everyone just said, 'Who cares if WindClan and ThunderClan get wiped out?' and then left us to die?" He looked around to see if any cat would challenge him again, but no one spoke up. "Exactly. Now, Whitetail and I will be gone for a few days. We'll try and be back as soon as we can. Squirrelflight, if we aren't back in a week, send out search parties. I don't think it will be necessary, but just in case."

His deputy nodded.

Whitetail then mewed, "While I am away, I expect WindClan to be on their best behaviors. Crowfeather, I want you in charge while I am gone. Report back to me immediately if any one acts up."

The dark gray WindClan warrior bowed his head and said, "I'll do my best to keep WindClan together. May StarClan light both of your paths and keep you both safe."

"Be safe!"

"Bye-bye!"

Bramblestar and Whitetail both leaped off the tree and started to head into the forest. "We'll be back before you know it. Good-bye!"

"So, which way are we heading?" Whitetail finally asked, looking at Bramblestar expectantly.

Bramblestar looked around the forest for a second. "I think our best option would be to go into WindClan territory first and make our way that way. It'll take longer, but I think it would be the safest option because from the moor we'll be able to see the water level all across the forest."

"Sounds good to me," mewed Whitetail.

The two Clan cats padded through the forest. Due to all of the destruction as well as not knowing the landscape, they were slowed down immensely and it took them nearly all day to get to the edge of the forest. Along the way, Bramblestar managed to catch a plump squirrel, and he desperately wished that he could take it back to the shelter, but it was too far away.

By the time they reached the moorlands, it was late in the day and the sun was beginning to sink behind the rolling hills. "Are we close to WindClan territory yet?" Bramblestar wondered, glancing at Whitetail.

The white she-cat flicked her ear to signal she had heard. After a few moments of thinking she answered, "I think after these next few hills we should be approaching the border."

Bramblestar nodded and carried on. The rough, springy grass was beginning to hurt his paw pads, and his stomach was starting to ache with hunger. He glanced at Whitetail to see if she needed to stop and rest, but the WindClan elder bounded through the tall grass with the energy of a new apprentice. _She must be in a rush to get to WindClan territory, _he realized.

Suddenly Whitetail broke out into a run. Bramblestar tried to catch up with the WindClan elder, but she was too fast for him even at her fragile age. Then Whitetail unexpectedly came to a halt, causing Bramblestar to crash right into her.

"S-Sorry," he gasped, flopping down onto the ground.

Whitetail didn't seem to be bothered for she happily exclaimed, "This is the beginning of WindClan territory! We'll be able to see the lake when we get to the top of the next hill."

Bramblestar nodded and stood to his aching paws. He slowly followed after Whitetail as they climbed up the steep slope.

By the time they reached the top, both cats were sore and tired. Bramblestar slowly sat down and his gaze turned towards the direction of the lake. In every direction, every thing was underwater. The only thing to be seen was the tips of trees that dotted the Clans territories. Even part WindClan's steep, rolling moorland territory was covered with shining, black water.

"It's completely underwater..." Whitetail muttered, staring out at the water with disbelief.

"It looks like the Sundrown Place," he whispered. His heart began to ache with sadness as he stared out at ThunderClan's territory. All the memories that had been made there were washed away. His mind then wandered to Blossomfall and Molewhisker who had died due to the storm, along with all of the missing cats. _How will we ever recover from this? It'll take moons for all this water to go down! _

"How will we ever get to RiverClan now?" Whitetail asked, shaking him from his thoughts.

Bramblestar gazed out at the water and tried to look for a route to get to RiverClan. Sadly, everything was underwater. "Maybe we can try walking along the Thunderpath? I doubt that monsters can swim, so I think it would be safe to head along that way."

Whitetail just let out a deep sigh and flicked her tail in agreement. "Lead the way."

Slowly the two cats padded across the moorland. By the time they reached the Thunderpath, the last rays of sunlight were beginning to fade. Whitetail was limping, and Bramblestar's pads were bleeding.

When the Thunderpath came into sight, Bramblestar saw that most of it was underwater as well as the rest of the forest. "Mouse-dung! You've got to be kidding me right now!"

Whitetail had a worried look on her face. "Maybe we should head home and come back when the water has gone down a little bit?"

Bramblestar shook his head. "We can't turn around now. We'll just have to wade through the water and then once we find dry land we'll stop and rest for the night."

The white she-cat let out a hiss of annoyance and snapped, "Bramblestar! It's night time! It's way too dangerous to be trekking through water that's who knows how deep. The best thing to do right now would be to go find a place to sleep and head home in the morning. Then when the water levels go down, maybe then we'll be able to reach RiverClan and ShadowClan."

Bramblestar was quiet for a little while. He knew that Whitetail was right about it being dangerous, but he couldn't possibly turn around and go home after all they had been through. The Clans were always supposed to help each other out, and after seeing the flood waters, he knew that ShadowClan and RiverClan needed help. StarClan would never forgive ThunderClan and WindClan if they let the other two Clans die out in a time of need! After all, there were always supposed to be four Clans in the forest.

"Let's just try and wade through the water. It might be shallow. If not, I promise we'll turn around and go find a place to sleep for the night."

Whitetail scowled but didn't argue with him. She obediently followed him into the water. Like Bramblestar had hoped, the water only reached up to their belly fur.

The two Clan cats waded along the empty Thunderpath in silence. As they got closer to RiverClan territory, the water level began to rise slightly. Bramblestar glanced at Whitetail to make sure the old she-cat was okay. For the most part, she looked as if she were keeping up, but Bramblestar could keep by the look on her face that she was tired and in pain.

Looking around for something they could rest on, Bramblestar spotted a big boulder sticking out of the water. "Let's get you to that boulder over there. It might be a little deep so I'll help you," he meowed, nudging Whitetail along. Without protest, the elderly she-cat followed him through the water. As they got closer to the giant rock, Bramblestar had to pull Whitetail by the scruff through the water.

Whitetail slowly hauled herself up onto the sharp stone and laid down, panting. "Doing this was the biggest mistake of my life!" she growled.

Pulling himself up next to her, Bramblestar answered, "I'm sorry, Whitetail."

"Please, Bramblestar. We _have_ to go home. It's too dangerous to keep doing this. We've walked for an entire day and we're both hurt. I know you want to help, but at the moment there's really nothing we can do to help RiverClan and ShadowClan. Coming all this way has done nothing but put our lives in danger for a group of cats who may not even need our help," Whitetail complained. She stared into his amber eyes and mewed one last time, "Please...let us return home in the morning."

Bramblestar let out a whimper. _I just want to help! Why can't anyone see that? I know it's dangerous, and I know that this journey is hard, but after everything we've been through, we can't just give up and leave the others for dead just because of a storm! _

"Maybe we could go stay with Smokey?" Whitetail whispered.

"No, the Horseplace is underwater too. The best thing to do right now is to just stay here and rest."

Whitetail didn't respond. She just rested her head on her paws and closed her eyes.

Bramblestar just rolled over onto his back and gazed up at the twinkling stars. _What if Whitetail is right? What if we've sentenced ourselves to death for nothing? StarClan, please, please, please give me a sign that I'm doing the right thing. I need your guidance now more than ever, yet you've been so silent. I am begging you...please help me!_

"Bramblestar?" Whitetail asked quietly, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

"What will you do if RiverClan and ShadowClan really are wiped out?"

Bramblestar didn't know what to say. "I don't know," he muttered, "hopefully they'll have made it to higher ground before anything serious could happen."

Whitetail said something that Bramblestar didn't understand. Then she unexpectedly asked, "Now that Onestar and Harespring are dead, who do you think will be the new WindClan leader?"

Bramblestar looked up at the stars once more. "I don't know how to answer that. It's not up to me anyways...plus, for all we know they could both be alive."

An angry growl rose up in the elder's throat and she grumpily replied, "I'm no rabbit-brained kit, Bramblestar. I know that neither of them could have possibly made it out alive. I don't want to admit that Onestar is dead, but he died saving Sedgewhisker's kits which is one of the most honorable deaths I can think of. I loved Onestar so much, and to lose him is painful, but I know that he is not truly gone. He is watching me and the rest of WindClan from StarClan..." Whitetail broke off and sadly gazed up at the starry sky. She sniffled a few times and then buried her face into her paws.

Bramblestar gave the white she-cat a sympathetic look and he wrapped his tail around her shoulders. "I'm so sorry, Whitetail. I know how painful it is to lose a loved one. But we just cannot give up. Rosepetal went missing and we found her, so we could easily do the same with Onestar. You can't give up."

Whitetail pushed him away gently. "I know he's dead. I can just...sense it." She was quiet for a little while and Bramblestar thought she was going to go to sleep, but then she mewed again, "I really hope Onestar and Firestar are friends again. Not many cats know this, but Onestar always felt bad for cutting off his friendship with Firestar, but he felt it was for the best. He just wanted to give WindClan a strong and fierce reputation for once and get rid of the idea that WindClan is helpless and can't take care of itself."

Bramblestar blinked a few times, clearly surprised. "But why would Onestar chose fighting rather than peace? From the way he treated ThunderClan, it seems as if he hated us. He even tried to drive us out, not once but twice!"

For the longest time, Whitetail didn't answer. "Onestar did the right thing," she mewed at last. Yawning, she curled up and shut her eyes.

Bramblestar silently doubted that Onestar had been right, but he held his tongue. He then curled up next to his travel companion and let the sound of lapping water lull him to sleep.

* * *

**I can't believe this story almost has 40 reviews! Thank you so much everyone. It truly means the entire world to me. And yes, sadly, Onestar and Harespring are both dead. *sob* With that news, who do you think will become the leader of WindClan? Also, do you think Whitetail is right and that coming to check on RiverClan and ShadowClan is a bad and dangerous idea? Also, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update this story next. I have a lot of school work that I need to finish as well as some other things, therefore I don't know if I'll have time to work on this story or Pinestar's Secret. I'll try my best though to keep both of them updated.**

**Thank you so much for reading!**


	14. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The sound of a frog's croak woke Bramblestar. The ThunderClan leader slowly stood to his paws and stretched. His entire body ached due to yesterday's journey as well as sleeping on the rough bolder.

Glancing down, he saw that Whitetail was still fast asleep. The WindClan elder's chest was rising and falling peacefully with each breath, however Bramblestar noticed she was extremely skinny and he could see all her ribs jutting out from underneath her pelt.

Bramblestar gently tapped the elder on the shoulder with his paw a few times to wake her up.

"Is it morning already?" Whitetail yawned, slowly opening her eyes.

"Yes. I would have let you sleep in longer, but I figured we needed to get going right away," Bramblestar answered.

Whitetail just flicked her long tail. "Oh, please! I've been waking up early almost every day of my life. There's no need to treat me special just because I'm an elder. I'm a normal cat just like you, you know. The only difference is that I've been around for a few more seasons than most cats." As Whitetail made her way to the edge of the boulder, she glanced back at him and gave him a smile.

"Do you need any help?" Bramblestar wondered as he followed after her.

Whitetail shook her head and jumped into the water. The white she-cat let out a squeak of surprise when the cold water reached up to her shoulders. "I didn't know it would be so deep!"

Bramblestar winced as he climbed into the water after her. Since he was so much bigger than Whitetail, the water didn't reach quiet up to his shoulders, but it was still pretty high. "I think the water has gone down just a little bit," he remarked as the two of them walked along.

"You think so? I hope you're right. Hey, how long do you think til the water goes completely down?" Whitetail asked, tipping her head to the side.

Bramblestar just shrugged. "No idea, really. Maybe a moon or two?" Glancing down at the water, Bramblestar hoped that was true.

The two cats walked in silence until Whitetail suddenly asked, "Are you and Squirrelflight back together?"

Bramblestar stopped in his tracks and just stared at Whitetail. His throat felt tight and he suddenly felt as if his legs would give out from underneath him. "Er...no. We aren't. W-why?"

Whitetail just blinked a few times and replied with, "I just figured since she's your deputy and all."

Bramblestar just lowered his head and awkwardly followed after Whitetail. "She's my deputy because I trust her. There's no other cat in ThunderClan that I can trust like Squirrelflight."

"Do you still love her?"

Bramblestar's pelt began to burn with embarrassment. He wasn't particularly fond of talking about romance so openly. Gulping, he said, "Yes, I do, but it's best that we aren't together anymore. Things just didn't work out and now we're just good friends and that's all."

Whitetail gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry for asking you all these questions. I know it must be very painful for you to deal with..."

Bramblestar just shook his head. "No, it's fine," he lied.

"I don't know the full story of what happened between you two or why Squirrelflight did what she did, but I'm sure her reasoning was good. I may not know Squirrelflight personally like you do, but I can tell she isn't a malicious cat. In my opinion, she's a good cat, Bramblestar, and you're very lucky to have her. Cherish every moment you have with your loved ones, because you never know when you're last day with them might be."

Bramblestar didn't know how to reply to the old she-cat's wise words, but luckily he didn't have to say anything as RiverClan's camp came into sight.

"We're here!" Bramblestar exclaimed, splashing through the water. Whitetail followed after him as fast as she could. As they neared the camp, Bramblestar scanned the water for any signs of swift flowing currents. Although he wasn't familiar with RiverClan territory, he knew that there was a river somewhere by the camp, and because of the floodwater, the shores had obviously been covered, making it hard to tell where the water got deeper.

"We might have to swim up here, so be prepared," Bramblestar said.

Whitetail looked a little frightened at the idea of swimming, but the WindClan elder gave him a determined look. Together they began to walk through the water until they couldn't touch anymore. Bramblestar kicked out with his legs and propelled himself through the water as best as he could. He swam right next to Whitetail to make sure that she didn't go under. Luckily, both cats made it to the opposite side and climbed up onto the submerged shore.

Bramblestar and Whitetail sat down in the shallow water for a moment to catch their breath. Bramblestar gazed out at the water they had just swam across and sighed. "It's so had to think that something like this could happen to the forest," he murmured to himself.

After resting for a while, the two cats got to their paws and continued on through the water. They pushed their way through the reeds and undergrowth til they got to a large, deserted clearing surrounded by trees and small bushes.

"I believe this was their camp," Whitetail mewed, looking up at Bramblestar.

"I think so too," Bramblestar agreed. "Let's split up and look around the camp to make sure that none of them got left behind. You go over there," he flicked his tail to the left side of the camp, "and I'll explore the right."

Whitetail nodded and splashed through the submerged camp. Bramblestar went in the opposite direction and padded up to what looked like the nearest den. Closest to the camp entrance was what looked like the remains of a bush. Due to the water level, the den had been completely filled up. Carefully, Bramblestar reached into the entrance and felt around for any thing. To his relief, he felt nothing.

As Bramblestar was making his way over to the next den, Whitetail let out a shriek. The ThunderClan leader quickly rushed over to her and his eyes widened in horror when he saw the sight that had spooked Whitetail so much.

Up against a rock lay Minnowtail. The gray tabby's eyes were open and glazed over, and pressed up against her side was a large branch. Part of the branch had pierced her neck, causing scarlet blood to pour out.

"Poor thing...she got trapped and couldn't make it out," Whitetail whimpered. Her voice cracked as she spoke, and Bramblestar could see her eyes welling up.

"She's in StarClan now," he whispered, curling his tail around Whitetail's shoulders.

The two of them split up once again to explore the rest of the camp. Bramblestar prayed to StarClan that they wouldn't come across any more bodies, and luckily they didn't.

"I wonder where they evacuated to," Whitetail wondered as she and Bramblestar left the camp.

"I'm not sure. I doubt that they're living somewhere inside their territory, so perhaps it would be best to look around in the Twolegs place?"

Whitetail grimaced but didn't argue with him. Bramblestar honestly couldn't blame her. The Twolegs place was no place for a Clan cat. It was so big and confusing, with all it's winding pathways and strange sounds and smells.

As they walked, Bramblestar's stomach began to growl.

"You hungry too?" Whitetail asked.

Bramblestar nodded. "Famished. I could eat an entire badger!" Looking around, he tried to find something they could eat but there wasn't anything, not even a minnow. The two cats hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon, and it was beginning to take a big tole on them.

Glancing at Whitetail, Bramblestar saw that she could barely put one paw in front of the other. Looking forward, he began to spot what he thought was the beginning of the Twolegs place. "It won't be much farther. You can make it, Whitetail."

Whitetail just blinked a few times but didn't say anything.

Bramblestar slowed down to match her pace, and after a while he allowed her to lean up against him. Together the two cats made their way closer to the Twolegs place. The water pulled at their legs, slowing them down even more, and Bramblestar began to shiver at the cold. His dark brown fur was spiked up from the water, and his tail and legs looked black.

Soon they reached the fence that marked the beginning of the Twolegs place. Bramblestar helped Whitetail climb up, and he followed after her.

The ThunderClan leader gave himself a quick shake and he sat down to rest for a little bit. Looking at Whitetail, he could see that his companion was exhausted and she looked seasons older than she really was. _Maybe she's right. Perhaps I should have brought a younger warrior with me..._

"I'm okay, Bramblestar," Whitetail mewed suddenly.

His amber eyes widened a little bit. "What?"

"I said I'm okay. I could see the look of worry in your eyes. I'm perfectly fine. Please don't worry about me too much, okay?" Whitetail repeated, staring at him. Her blue eyes were calm and she looked ready to get moving once again.

Bramblestar nodded. Once they had rested for long enough, the two of them got up and began making their way along the fence.

"Look at all the stuff in the water," Whitetail commented, looking down into one of the Twoleg yards.

Carefully, Bramblestar looked down at the water. Like Whitetail had said, there were strange Twoleg objects floating around in the water. Some of them looked dangerous, which worried Bramblestar. Sooner or later, those things would end up in the lake and could cause a serious problem for the Clans. The idea of a young apprentice or even a kit being hurt by one of these things caused his heart to speed up in fear.

Slowly, Bramblestar and Whitetail aimlessly wandered around the Twolegs place. There were so many fences and pathways, and a couple of times the two of them ended up completely lost and had to turn around. Glancing at the sky, Bramblestar's heart sunk in his chest. The sun was starting to go down, and they hadn't encountered any sign of RiverClan being in the Twolegs place. Bramblestar was truly baffled. RiverClan had to have gone _somewhere._ If all of them had died, surely they would have found more bodies back at camp.

"Where in the name of StarClan could they have gone? The day is almost over and we haven't found a single sign of any cats living here," Brambleclaw growled under his breath.

Whitetail shrugged. "I wonder where they've gone to. Surely they're somewhere around here...I mean, there's not many other places that they could shelter at."

Bramblestar flicked his tail and just carried on. As he rounded a corner, he spotted a black tail tip disappear into some hedges that grew up above. Breaking out into a slow trot, Bramblestar followed the cat in hopes that it could possibly be a RiverClan warrior, or a cat who had perhaps spotted the missing Clan.

As he was trotting along the fence, his paw slipped on a piece of unsteady, rotten wood and Bramblestar fell over the side. He quickly dug his claws into the rotting wood and tried to pull himself up, but the fence crumbled beneath his paws.

"Bramblestar!" Whitetail shrieked, trying to grab him by the scruff. The tiny white she-cat tried to pull Bramblestar up, but he was too big and heavy for him.

Glancing down at the water, Bramblestar gulped. The water was pitch black and littered with garbage. And from what he could see, it was extremely deep too.

The sound of creaking wood alerted him and he looked up to see the black tom running towards them. As soon as Bramblestar caught a glimpse of the tom's face, he let out a happy purr.

_Reedwhisker! _

Without saying a word, Reedwhisker helped Whitetail pull Bramblestar by the scruff and the ThunderClan leader pulled himself onto the fence.

"Thank StarClan you were here! Oh, Reedwhisker, I'm so glad to have run into you. Whitetail and I have been looking for RiverClan all day," Bramblestar thanked, dipping his head to the RiverClan deputy.

Reedwhisker gave them a warm smile before beckoning them forward with his long tail. "Follow me."

Nodding, Bramblestar followed after the black tom.

"So, why were you two looking for RiverClan?" Reedwhisker asked as they walked along.

"Bramblestar had a dream," Whitetail began, "that ShadowClan and RiverClan needed our help, so we came searching for you. W-we saw Minnowtail's body and we're so sorry for your loss..."

Reedwhisker was nodding as the she-cat spoke. Finally he mewed, "Thank you for your concern. For the most part, RiverClan is okay, but I'll let Mistystar talk to you before I say anything more. Here we are." Reedwhisker moved out of the way and stood in front of an empty Twoleg yard.

"Where is it?" Bramblestar asked, gazing around. The yard was completely empty besides from the obvious flood water, and the only tree that stood in the yard was too small to support a Clan. Besides, trees were not the best idea for a camp.

Reedwhisker let out a small chuckle. "It's inside, fish-brain! Here, follow me. And watch your step, the fence can be a little creaky."

Whitetail and Bramblestar exchanged looks, but they didn't say anything. Slowly, the two of them followed Reedwhisker along the fence. When they were close enough to the nest, Reedwhisker jumped onto a piece of wood that stuck out from one of the sides of the house, and he pushed up against a clear rectangle that was in the side of the wall. Soon it opened up and the RiverClan deputy disappeared inside.

Grimacing, Bramblestar followed. He took a mighty leap and jumped onto the wood, then made his way inside. Whitetail joined him not long after.

The two cats slowly gazed around the Twoleg nest. Strange scents lingered in the air, and Bramblestar just didn't know what to make of it.

"Bramblestar, oh I'm so glad to see that you're safe! And Whitetail, it's good to see you too. How are things in ThunderClan and WindClan?" Mistystar mewed, walking up with Reedwhisker at her side.

The ThunderClan leader dipped his head. "Greetings, Mistystar. I'm glad to see that you are well. ThunderClan and WindClan have survived for now," Bramblestar answered. He didn't want to tell that that they were good, because they obviously weren't. There was no point in lying anyways. All four Clans had been driven from their homes and were probably starving, so it was highly unlikely that any of them would go launching attacks. With this knowledge in mind, Bramblestar relaxed himself a bit.

Mistystar wrapped her tail around her paws and for the first time, Bramblestar noticed how ill she and Reedwhisker looked. Glancing around at the other RiverClan cats in the background, he noticed they were the same way.

"RiverClan is...alright, I suppose," Mistystar whispered. "We lost Minnowtail, Duskfur and Splashkit, but other than that things are the best they can be in a situation like this. I'm very glad to hear that you two have come to check on us. I tried to send a patrol to your Clans shortly after the storm happened, but due to the water levels I just couldn't. So, tell me, how are the both of you? Also, now that I think about it, where is Onestar? Surely he would have come along to represent WindClan?"

Whitetail lowered her head and quietly answered, "Onestar's dead."

Mistystar and Reedwhisker's eyes widened. "I'm so sorry for WindClan's loss...How is Harestar fairing?"

"Harespring is dead too..." Bramblestar muttered, looking down at his paws.

Mistystar took a step back and she gasped, "How can that be? What happened to cause the death of a leader _and_ deputy?"

Slowly, Bramblestar and Whitetail explained everything that had happened to their Clans, from the moment they had left their camps up til the part where the tunnels had started to flood.

The RiverClan cats looked absolutely mortified. "I'm terribly sorry for your losses...I thought that RiverClan was suffering, but it seems we were a little more fortunate than our neighbors. Here, let me have some warriors show you where you can sleep for the night. And let me get you two some food. We don't have very much to offer, but you two deserve it."

Mistystar called Willowshine over, and the pretty medicine cat apprentice led Bramblestar and Whitetail into another room and had them lay down on something soft. It reminded Bramblestar of sheep wool, and he happily settled down onto it.

Soon, Willowshine reappeared with a mouthful of minnows. The silver tabby dropped them at the two cats' paws and mewed, "Are either of you hurt?"

Gulping down a minnow, Whitetail answered, "My joints are aching."

"I have a few cut pads," Bramblestar said, and began chewing up the prey.

Willowshine nodded and left the room once again. This time, she reappeared with Bramblestar's half-sister, Mothwing.

"Hello, Bramblestar. Willowshine said your paws are cracking. Let me see them," The golden she-cat mewed, walking over to him.

Bramblestar held out his paw and Mothwing carefully sniffed it. "This paw isn't infected, but the skin is irritated. Let me clean it out for you and put some ointment on it. Now, it isn't the best, but it's all we have at the moment." The golden she-cat then began to clean his pads with her tongue, and then she rubbed a sticky ointment into it. She repeated this process three more times, then moved over to Whitetail to check on her.

* * *

That night, Bramblestar and Whitetail were invited to join the rest of the RiverClan cats share tongues. Sunlight was finally dying from the sky, sending dappled shadows all around the den.

"So are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Bramblestar asked Mistystar as the two of them groomed each other.

Mistystar stopped mid-lick and shook her head. "I just can't, Bramblestar. It would just be way too much for us. Besides, we're perfectly fine here. Sure, it will never replace our camp, but it'll do. And anyways, RiverClan has encountered many floods throughout it's existence. This one is no different."

"But the Twolegs place is for Twolegs! What will you do if the Twolegs who live here come back with you still inside?" Whitetail argued.

Mistystar just flicked her ear. "I can just tell they won't be coming home any time soon. If they do, I'll worry about that when it happens. For now, we're staying here. I'm sorry you two, but it's just too dangerous to make my entire Clan trek around the entire lake in our condition."

Bramblestar sighed, but he understood the she-cats reasoning. "Alright. Perhaps we could meet in a week at the Moonpool? Perhaps if we get all four leaders together there, StarClan will give us answers to help us work this whole problem out." He gave her another lick.

"That sounds like a good plan. If nothing serious happens within the next week, expect me to be there. If I need to get a hold of you, I'll send out some messengers out your way," the blue-gray leader responded.

A purr rose up in his throat and Whitetail smiled. "Good. I'll see you there!"

* * *

**This is the longest chapter by far. I'm so pleased at how my writing has improved. When I first started writing, I could barley manage to get over a thousand words, but now I have to keep stopping myself from writing too much! Do you think that Mistystar was right in her choice to refuse to come along with Bramblestar? Or do you think her choice was logical? Also, do you feel like Bramblestar was too open and revealed too much to RiverClan or do you think the situation was appropriate? **

**Thank you every one! Seeing all of your reviews puts a big smile on my face. **


	15. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The sun was slowly rising in the sky as Bramblestar and Whitetail followed Mistystar, Grasspelt, and Lakeheart through the Twolegs place. Soon the group approached the last rows of nests and fences, and Mistystar came to a stop. "Looks like we're here," she told them.

Bramblestar dipped his head in thanks and mewed, "Thank you so much for allowing us to stay with you over night."

Mistystar purred, "It's nothing. If you need RiverClan's help again, feel free to ask. Our camp will always be open to the two of you. I'll see you two at the Moonpool in a week. Good luck on your quest to find ShadowClan, and may StarClan light your path."

Bramblestar and Whitetail nodded, and they carefully climbed down from the fence and into the cold floodwater below. The three RiverClan cats watched them for a little while to make sure they were safe, and then they turned and headed home. Bramblestar thought he could hear one of them call out a 'good-bye', but before he could say good-bye back, they were already gone.

Slowly, Bramblestar and Whitetail trekked through the dirty water. The two of them passed the greenleaf Twolegs place, and then started to head into the pine forest that made up most of ShadowClan's territory. Due to the flood water, they couldn't go straight through the heart of ShadowClan's territory, and instead they had to go uphill around the edges.

Bramblestar began to get an eerie feeling as the two of them walked. The pine forest was completely silent, and so far they hadn't caught the scent of anything. "Do you think Tawnypelt is alright?" he asked Whitetail quietly.

Whitetail weakly shook her head. "No idea. I hope so...but no cat can answer that question for sure."

Bramblestar just looked down at the ground and continued on. The two of them walked in silence, hoping that they would come into contact with a ShadowClan cat.

Soon, to Bramblestar's surprise, the two of them came up on Jacques and Susan's house, and the flood water still hadn't let up any. "ShadowClan definitely left their territory, just like us." Bramblestar commented to Whitetail.

Whitetail didn't say anything, and Bramblestar looked over and saw that she was worn out. The elderly she-cats eyes were drooping, and her fur hung from her bony frame. _She needs to sit down and rest...but where? There!_ Bramblestar spotted a low hanging branch.

"Come on, Whitetail. Let's get you over here to rest," he urged, nudging her along. Whitetail didn't argue as she followed him. The ThunderClan leader helped Whitetail climb up onto the branch.

"M-my legs ache..." she groaned. "I-I feel...like I'm going to pass out..."

"Whitetail, you just stay here and rest for a little while. I'll go see if I can find any ShadowClan cats by myself. I just want you to rest here. If you see anyone, have them wait here with you or take you back to their camp if you can. Does that sound okay?" the dark brown tabby asked.

Whitetail weakly nodded. "Yeah. Fine with me. B-be careful, Bramblestar."

Bramblestar dipped his head and promised, "I will." He turned and started to continue on through the dark pines. Despite being the middle of the day, it felt so dark and gloomy, causing Bramblestar's pelt began to bristle.

"Is any one out here?" he yowled. Nothing. "Hello? Anyone? I don't mean any harm. I just-"

"BRAMBLESTAR!"

The sudden shriek spooked Bramblestar, and he jumped into the air. His amber eyes were wide and he quickly looked around for the cat who had called out his name. "Who is there?" he demanded, unsheathing his claws.

"Up here!" the voice yowled.

Bramblestar lifted his head and looked around in the tree branches to see if he could spot any cats. Suddenly his gaze rested on a familiar tortoiseshell pelt along with an unfamiliar brown cat. "Tawnypelt! You're alive!"

Tawnypelt quickly climbed down and she happily ran towards her brother. "I was so worried about you. I-I wanted to go see if you were alright, but Rowanstar refused me from going to see you. He said it was too dangerous. What are you doing here?"

Bramblestar started to purr, but then he gave her a confused look. "What happened to Blackstar? Did he...?" he trailed off.

Tawnypelt nodded grimly. "Yes, Blackstar drowned."

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Tawnypelt. WindClan lost Onestar too," Bramblestar sighed.

Tawnypelt gave him a sad look and mewed, "This storm is truly awful. How will we ever cope?" Before Bramblestar could answer she said, "Come on. Let us take you back to our camp. By the way, this is Grasspaw. She's my apprentice."

"Hello," Bramblestar said politely.

"H-hello. Nice to meet you!" Grasspaw squeaked.

Tawnypelt gave her apprentice and her brother a smile and she whispered to Bramblestar, "Grasspaw's a little shy." At that, Grasspaw lowered her head as if she were ashamed. Tawnypelt quickly murmured something to Grasspaw that Bramblestar couldn't pick up, so he just gave the young apprentice a quick smile.

"So, Rowanstar's leader now, eh?" Bramblestar remarked as they walked along.

Tawnypelt nodded. "Well, he hasn't officially gotten his nine lives yet, but we still call him Rowanstar anyways."

"Did he make you his deputy?" Bramblestar asked excitedly. In his mind, his sister definitely deserved it. While she hadn't been born in ShadowClan, she was one of the most loyal ShadowClan cats in his opinion, and he felt his sister had the experience to be a good deputy.

To his surprise, Tawnypelt bluntly answered, "No."

"What? Why not?"

Tawnypelt sighed and she just muttered, "It's probably because I was born in ThunderClan. Don't worry, Bramblestar. I'm not upset. It's for the best. Besides, Rowanstar is my mate. If he picked me as his deputy, it would probably seem as if he were playing favorites. Really, don't worry about it. It's fine."

Despite Tawnypelt's words, Bramblestar could tell she was upset.

Bramblestar didn't say anymore as he followed Tawnypelt through the pines. Much like his dreams, ShadowClan's territory looked as if it had taken a hard hit. Many trees had been knocked over the strong wind and water, and branches had been stripped from the trees like twigs. It was a complete disaster.

After a long period of walking, Tawnypelt announced, "We are coming up on ShadowClan's camp. Please wait here and I'll get Rowanstar for you." The tortoiseshell she-cat and her apprentice bounded off through some undergrowth. After what felt like a moon, Tawnypelt appeared with an angry Rowanstar and a worried Littlecloud.

"Get out of here right now!" Rowanstar spat immediately, glaring at Bramblestar with pure hatred in his eyes.

Bramblestar quickly glanced to look at Tawnypelt, but he then turned back at Rowanstar and slowly began to back up. He had felt Rowanstar's claws in his pelt before, and he didn't want to experience that again. "I-I just wanted to make sure that the other two Clans had survived through the storm is all," he gulped nervously.

Rowanstar unsheathed his claws and began walking towards him. His green eyes were narrowed into small slits that burned with rage. "I thought Firestar was dead. Looks like I was wrong," he growled.

Bramblestar's ears flattened against his head and he retorted, "I am my own cat. Besides, there's nothing wrong with wanting to make sure another Clan is safe, especially in a situation like this! All the Clans have suffered, Rowanstar. There's no need to be so hostile."

"I'll tell you this one more time, ThunderClanner: Get. Out. Of. ShadowClan. Territory!" and with that, Rowanstar leaped onto Bramblestar and knocked him to the ground.

Bramblestar didn't even have time to react as he was thrown into icy water. He gasped for breath, but Rowanstar held him under. Suddenly the weight was lifted and Bramblestar lifted his head, gasping. Water streaming out of his eyes and mouth and he felt as if his lungs were made of stone.

"Rowanstar!" Tawnypelt shrieked, staring at him with wide eyes.

Rowanstar turned and gave his mate an angrily look, and he hissed, "Tawnypelt, you stay out of this! This is between me and Bramblestar."

Tawnypelt's hackles began to raise and she unsheathed her claws. The tortoiseshell she-cat angrily spat, "Have you forgotten that he's my _brother_? I'm not going to stand here and let you kill him because you're too proud to admit that ShadowClan is weak at the moment! That's right, I said it. ShadowClan is _weak_!"

"I always knew your loyalties were never truly with ShadowClan," Rowanstar accused sharply, lashing his tail back and forth.

"Excuse me?" Tawnypelt began, clearly shocked by Rowanstar's words. "Of all cats, I never thought I'd hear those words from you! You know that I'm a loyal ShadowClan cat to the bone. I thought you loved me, Rowanstar. Clearly I was mistaken...I-I can't believe you." Bramblestar could tell that this was truly hurting Tawnypelt. Much like Bramblestar, Tawnypelt had always had the shadow of her murderous father hanging over her like a cloud. Every where the two littermates had gone, they always had to prove their worth to their Clan mates, and now that Tawnypelt's mate was accusing her of being disloyal, he knew it had to hurt.

"Tawny-"

"No, Rowanstar. I'm not having any of this. I am _done_ with you. Come on, Bramblestar, let's go." Tawnypelt sighed, running through the trees.

Bramblestar gave his sister a quick glance, before looking back at Rowanstar. "Er...I'll be going now," he mewed awkwardly.

Rowanstar just glared at him and turned and padded back into their camp. Littlecloud gave the ThunderClan leader a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry you had to watch that," the small brown tom mewed, "but please don't feel as if you're responsible. Those two have been going at each others throats ever since Blackstar died."

Bramblestar dipped his head at the medicine cat's words. "Littlecloud, if you don't mind me asking, do you think you could convince Rowanstar to come meet me, Whitetail, and Mistystar at the Moonpool in about a weeks time? It's very important and we need all four leaders to come assemble to discuss the issues that have been going on recently."

Littlecloud glanced back at the camp entrance, but he said, "I'll do my best. If I can't convince Rowanstar to come, I'll come myself. Someone has to represent ShadowClan."

Bramblestar started to purr before following after his sister. As he walked, he suddenly started to hear paw steps running after him and he turned to see the young ShadowClan warrior, Tigerheart, running after him.

"Tigerheart, what are you doing out here?" Bramblestar asked as soon as the tom approached.

Tigerheart stopped running and stood there for a moment to catch his breath. "I heard about what happened between my parents, and I want to come with my mother if that's alright with you."

Bramblestar could tell that there was more to Tigerheart's story than he was letting on, but he didn't pry. "Alright. You can come along."

* * *

After picking up Whitetail, the three cats began to trek through the wet pine forest in order to find Tawnypelt. Luckily it wasn't too hard, as the she-cat was waiting close by the border between ShadowClan and ThunderClan.

"Tigerheart, what are you doing here?" Tawnypelt asked, giving her son a confused look.

"I wanted to come with you," Tigerheart answered.

Tawnypelt let out a long sigh but didn't answer.

Without another word, the four cats began to carefully swim across the stream and up onto the bank. Bramblestar explained to them where ThunderClan and WindClan were sheltering, and they slowly made their way there. Along the way, Tawnypelt and Tigerheart caught a toad, and they all settled down for a quick meal.

"I think the is the best toad I've ever eaten in my life," Whitetail purred, licking her lips.

Bramblestar nodded, seconding her thoughts. Glancing at the sky though, he saw that the sunlight was fading from the sky. "We need to hurry if we want to make it to the fallen tree shelter by night fall."

Tawnypelt nodded and together, she and Tigerheart buried the bones of the amphibian and they continued on their way.

Not soon after, the sunlight had completely disappeared, leaving the forest dark and strange. Due to the unfamiliar territory, Bramblestar had little to no idea where they were at. At the sound of a fox's bark, Whitetail jumped and fell right into Bramblestar.

"That sounded close," Tawnypelt whispered, glancing at her son.

Bramblestar nosed Whitetail up before mewing, "It does. Let's pick up the pace a little."

The dark brown tom broke into a trot and he and his companions tried to hurry through the forest. Several times they ended up lost or entangled in undergrowth.

Tigerheart's shoulder was bleeding from a scratch, and Bramblestar began to limp after tripping over a fallen branch.

"How much longer?" Tigerheart groaned, giving his shoulder a lick. Crimson blood fell from his wound and landed onto some oak leaves that littered the ground below.

Before Bramblestar could answer, two gleaming eyes began to stalk closer to the warrior cats. Suddenly, a fox leaped right in front of them and snapped it's teeth two mouse lengths away from the ShadowClan tom's muzzle.

With that, all four cats darted in a random direction. Bramblestar darted through the forest as fast as he could. He couldn't hear anything behind him, but he kept on running. Suddenly, he slammed into something hard - a log he presumed - and went flying forward, before tumbling down a long, steep slope.

Brambles and sharp branches tugged at his body as he fell, and when he landed he slammed right into the side of a sharp rock. Bramblestar lay there very quiet and still for many moments, and then he slowly lifted his head up and groaned. He had a huge gash in the side of his belly from where he had slammed into the rock at full speed, and his pelt was covered in scratches from his fall.

The ThunderClan leader tried to get to his paws, but he collapsed. Grunting, he tried once more, but with each effort he could just feel his energy draining out of him. He let out a loud call for his companions, but he was met with complete silence.

Suddenly his world went black...

* * *

**If you guessed that Blackstar had died, you're correct! Sadly though, Rowanstar is now leader and he's a complete jerk! Also, don't worry about Tawnypelt. She will get her main break soon. Another thing, why do you think Tigerheart came? Do you think he was telling the truth about coming because of Tawnypelt, or do you think he's got something more in mind? Also, what on earth do you think happened to Bramblestar? He's very wounded...hopefully he will pull through before the starving foxes get him. Thank you for all of your lovely reviews by the way. I look forward to hearing what all of you have to say! **


	16. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

When Bramblestar opened his eyes, he was surrounded by tall grass on all sides. Slowly, he raised his head and gazed around. Tall, yellowing grass stretched around him for as far as the eye could see. Then, a gentle, warm, breeze blew, causing hundreds of monarch butterflies to fly into a dark, stormy sky.

Bramblestar blinked a couple of times, clearly confused. This definitely wasn't ThunderClan's territory, and there was no way he could end up all the way in WindClan. Then it hit him: he had lost a life.

Bramblestar immediately jumped to his paws and gazed around. If he had lost a life, why weren't any StarClan warriors greeting him? And why was he in the middle of a meadow? While Bramblestar had never lost a life before, he had some assumptions on what it was like, and this was not what he had expected at all. And While the scenery was beautiful, it was lonesome and eerie. It wasn't something he'd expect for StarClan.

Slowly, Bramblestar began to push his way through the grass. The stems whacked him in the face from time to time, causing him to wince. In the distance, lightning flashed across the sky. Soon he began to pick up voices coming from his left. Turning, he began to head that way in hopes of figuring out what was going on.

"...but we won the battle! How can this be?"

"You've got to be kidding me! End..."

"...never in all my years have I ever heard of...it's an outrage!"

Bramblestar tried to angle his ears to pick out what the cats were saying, but as more and more cats began speaking, their words were blended together, making it impossible to clearly hear what was being said.

Just as he was getting closer, he bolted awake.

Dawn was breaking, sending a rosy-cream color over the frosty forest. Slowly, Bramblestar rose to his paws. His entire body ached from last nights mishap. Looking down, he saw that the boulder he had been laying against was smeared with his blood. Bramblestar grimaced at the sight.

_I need to find the others and make sure they're okay,_ he thought. Bramblestar limped up the steep hill and began calling out for his friends.

"Tawnypelt? Whitetail? Tigerheart? Can you hear me?" he yowled as he frantically searched for them.

His heart felt like a stone in his chest as he searched for them. "Tawnypelt? Whitetail? Tigerheart? It's me, Bramblestar! Answer if you can hear me!" he repeated.

The ThunderClan leader stood there for a little bit, waiting for a response. Then he thought he heard a faint mew coming from a near by tree. Fast as lightning, Bramblestar was over by the tree. He began calling out once again for his companions, and once more a weak meow came from below the tree.

Glancing down, Bramblestar saw that there was a small cavern under one of the roots of the tree. He poked his head inside and saw that Tigerheart was huddled there. The young tom was crouched down with his head bent, and Bramblestar saw that his back leg was badly wounded.

"Tigerheart!" Bramblestar shrieked, "did the fox do that to you?"

Tigerheart gingerly turned his head and nodded. "Yes." The ShadowClan tom slowly crawled over to the entrance and slowly pulled his way out. Bramblestar grabbed onto his scruff to help pull him out.

Immediately, Tigerheart bent his head and began licking at his wound. It was very large and looked infected. "We need to get you to Leafpool right away," Bramblestar said, "but first, do you know where the others are?"

Tigerheart shook his head. "No, I don't."

Bramblestar let out a small hiss, and he signaled with his tail for Tigerheart to follow. "Come on, we need to find them."

The two dark brown tabbies limped along. With every step Bramblestar took, he felt as if his stomach would fall out, and he could see that Tigerheart was barely managing.

"Mother? Mother, where are you?" Tigerheart yowled.

"Tawnypelt? Whitetail?" Bramblestar called.

Suddenly the undergrowth behind them rustled, causing both toms to jump. "Relax, it's just me," Tawnypelt spoke as she stepped out.

Bramblestar sighed in relief. "Are you hurt any? And where's Whitetail?"

"No, I luckily managed to get away with out any serious injuries. Just a few bumps and scrapes here and there. As for Whitetail, she's got a sprained shoulder, but she'll live. She's resting on a log not far from here," Tawnypelt replied.

Bramblestar nodded and together he and Tigerheart followed the tortoiseshell she-cat to Whitetail. The WindClan elder was resting on the log that Bramblestar had tripped over the previous night.

"You've found them!" Whitetail exclaimed, rushing over to them.

"I'm so glad that we're all safe," Tigerheart commented.

Bramblestar nodded. "Yeah. Now let's get going!" The four of them limped along through the thick forest as they made their way to ThunderClan and WindClan's new camp.

Soon, Bramblestar spotted familiar territory. "I believe we're almost there," he told them, quickening his pace slightly.

Whitetail began scenting the air and she nodded. "I can smell camp."

Finally the beat up bunch of warriors arrived. They were almost immediately surrounded by their Clan mates, who were happily purring and asking how things went.

"Every one, back up. They just got back and they need their space. I'm sure Bramblestar and Whitetail along with their two guests can answer every ones questions once they get checked by the medicine cats," Crowfeather ordered, pushing every one back.

Whitetail gave Crowfeather a thankful glance, before she was ushered off by Kestrelflight.

Leafpool and Jayfeather then began to nudge Bramblestar and Tigerheart off, while Brightheart quickly looked over Tawnypelt.

"Your wound is definitely infected," Jayfeather reported as he sniffed Tigerheart's leg wound.

"Here," Leafpool mewed, pushing some chervil towards her son. Jayfeather picked up the herbs and then began applying it to the ShadowClan tom's wounds.

"Now, let me get a look at you," Leafpool meowed, turning towards Bramblestar. The light brown tabby she-cat gave him a disapproved look. "That cut on your muzzle is starting to look infected. I told you to come in and get herbs for that," she lectured, smearing ointment onto the cut.

Bramblestar screwed up his face, but didn't protest. "I honestly haven't had the chance."

Leafpool just flicked her ear and searched him more. "Bramblestar! Just look at that wound. What on earth happened to you?"

Bramblestar quickly explained everything that had happened since he and Whitetail had left RiverClan, all the way up to when he had blacked out and received the strange dream.

"I've never heard of anything like that before," Leafpool gasped. "What about you, Jayfeather?"

Jayfeather shook his head. "Never. Usually when a leader uses a life, they're greeted by the cats who gave them their lives. I've never heard of a case where a leader is alone, especially in the type of setting you described."

Bramblestar just flicked his tail back and forth. _Great, that doesn't sound like a good sign_, he thought irritably.

Leafpool gave him a worried look but didn't say anything. "Bramblestar, I think you need to go get some rest," she mewed.

Bramblestar didn't say anything as he started to head towards his nest. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the familiar ginger pelt of his deputy coming towards him. _Just the cat I wanted to see_, he purred.

"I'm so glad that you're home safely," Squirrelflight purred, brushing up against him.

Bramblestar purred at her company. "Trust me, it's good to be back. I never want to trek around the lake like that ever again!"

Squirrelflight helped him to his nest, and once Bramblestar was settled down he asked, "So, how were things while I was gone?"

Squirrelflight took a deep breath. "Not good, Bramblestar. Briarlight...she passed away in her sleep not long after you and Whitetail left."

Bramblestar lowered his head in shame. He had promised Millie that he wouldn't let Briarlight die, and he had failed her. His heart ached for the silver queen. She had already lost Blossomfall, so losing Briarlight was probably killing the silver she-cat. "Where is Millie?" he finally asked.

"She's sitting by Briarlight's grave," Squirrelflight answered glumly. "She's hardly moved from that spot since the day she passed."

Bramblestar let out a quiet sob. "W-what about Fernkit and Rosepetal? Are they okay?"

"They're both doing a lot better. Rosepetal can finally sit up on her own now, and Fernkit is running around and playing with all the other kits," Squirrelflight gave him a small smile before adding, "there's also something else I want to show you. Follow me." Without waiting for a response, Squirrelflight stood up and headed across the clearing. Bramblestar hobbled after her.

Squirrelflight slowly pushed back some tall grass, and there in the center were the two shapes of Sandstorm and Snowpaw.

"Y-You found them!" he exclaimed happily.

"Shh," Squirrelflight scolded, leading him away.

"Right, sorry," the ThunderClan leader whispered as he quietly followed Squirrelflight back to his nest. Once they were far enough away, he returned to his normal voice and asked, "How?"

"They just wandered up a couple nights ago," Squirrelflight answered.

"And they're okay?"

"They're both fine. Of course, they're a little shaken up, but no life threatening issues." Squirrelflight glanced back at the spot where the two cats were sleeping to make sure they hadn't been disturbed. "Snowpaw will barely leave Sandstorm's side."

Bramblestar gave Squirrelflight a pleased look, and then yawned.

"Get some rest," Squirrelflight whispered, giving him a lick on the forehead. Bramblestar sleepily nodded and settled down into his nest. It took less than a second for Bramblestar to drift off into a deep sleep.

* * *

**This chapter is a bit shorter than some of the others that have been posted lately, but that's all for a good reason. I didn't want too much to happen in this chapter, especially since something very important has been set up. The dream that Bramblestar had was very important for later on, so you will definitely need to remember it. Thank you every one for your reviews! :) **


	17. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Bramblestar sunk his teeth into a skinny shrew as he gazed out across his Clan. It had been exactly three days since he and Whitetail had returned, and things were going extremely well. The water levels had fortunately dropped a bit, and the sick and injured cats were healing wonderfully. Tigerheart's leg wound was starting to heal up, and Rosepetal was now able to get up and walk around. Fernkit was doing even better than before, and all worry that the young kit would die had disappeared. And lastly, Sandstorm and Snowpaw were much better. Snowpaw was still a shell of his former self, but he was starting to stray from Sandstorm's side little by little. Sandstorm herself was perfectly fine, and despite the fact that she was a little shaken up, she didn't let that stop her from helping out around the camp.

Bramblestar now watched the two as they helped Daisy and Hootpaw build nests. As soon as he finished his shrew, he got to his paws and walked over to them.

"Hello, Bramblestar," Daisy purred, dipping her head.

Sandstorm happily waved her tail at him and mewed, "Anything we can do for you?"

Bramblestar nodded. "Yes, actually. I would like to speak to you Sandstorm."

Sandstorm set the moss she was working with down and followed him out of camp. When they were settled down the elderly she-cat asked, "Yes?"

Bramblestar cleared his throat and then mewed, "I know that this was probably a traumatic event for you, Sandstorm, but I would like to know what happened on the night of the flood. You don't have to tell me right now if you don't want to-"

"No, that's okay. I can tell you right now," Sandstorm interrupted. The pale ginger she-cat was silent for a few moments, and she kept taking deep breaths. Finally she mewed, "As soon as the water burst into the cave, I began to panic. I had absolutely no idea what to do or what was even going on, so I just randomly darted into a tunnel without even knowing if it would lead me to safety or not. I couldn't see a thing, but I kept on running. After many twists and turns, the tunnel felt like it was starting to head down. This feeling of absolute dread came over me and I realized that I most likely wasn't going to make it out alive. Then, I felt the presence of Firestar behind me. He urged me to keep running, so I put on an extra burst of speed and before I knew it, I was out of the tunnel. I looked around for him, but he was no where. I really do believe that if it weren't for him, I would have died," Sandstorm finished. She took a deep breath and gazed into Bramblestar's amber eyes.

Bramblestar just sat there shocked. Finally he stammered, "A-and what about Snowpaw?"

"I found him unconscious in the middle of the forest. He was covered in blood and had tufts of fur missing. I tried to ask him what happened, but he still won't tell me. Whatever it was, it shook the poor thing up. After a couple of days he seemed to be fit enough to travel, so we went searching for any ThunderClan cats. That's when we met a patrol and we were taken to the camp," she answered.

Bramblestar dipped his head to the ThunderClan elder. "Thank you so much for sharing this with me, Sandstorm. I know how painful it probably was to share this information with me, and I truly appreciate you sharing this with me."

Sandstorm just gave him a small smile.

As Bramblestar stood up to head back to camp, Sandstorm called out, "Bramblestar, don't question yourself so much. You're a wonderful leader."

The dark brown tom paused and looked back at her. "What do you mean?" he wondered, looking at her puzzled.

"Just...don't worry about having to fill Firestar's paw steps." With that, she said no more and she bounded off into the forest.

* * *

Bramblestar quietly stalked through the forest, mouth open. He tried to draw in as many scents as he could, but he sadly couldn't pick anything up.

"Anyone scent anything?" Emberfoot whispered.

Poppyfrost shook her head. "No, I don't scent a thing. What about you, Bramblestar?"

"No." he shook his head.

Poppyfrost lashed her tail and pouted. "We better catch something. I'm starving! Where in the name of StarClan could all the prey have gone to anyways? It has to be _somewhere_!"

Emberfoot shrugged. "No idea. Let's keep looking though."

Bramblestar nodded his head in agreement and followed Emberfoot and Poppyfrost through the forest. While this forest wasn't his home, it was starting to become familiar to him the more he hunted in it.

Suddenly Emberfoot paused and he signaled with his gray tail for the other two to pause. "Squirrel," he whispered.

Poppyfrost nodded and immediately began to sneak around to the back of the squirrel, while Emberfoot stalked towards it's front. As the WindClan tom approached the prey, he accidentally stepped on a twig, alarming the squirrel. The squirrel ran towards Poppyfrost, and the tortoiseshell she-cat jumped on it and killed it with a swift bite to the neck.

"Great job!" Bramblestar called as he trotted towards them.

Emberfoot was purring happily and he nuzzled Poppyfrost. "That catch was brilliant! I've never seen anything like that before. I was for sure that that darn squirrel was going to head right up that pine tree over there."

Poppyfrost just gave her chest fur a couple of embarrassed licks before replying, "It was nothing. Any cat could have caught it."

Upon seeing a close up on the squirrel, Bramblestar commented, "It's a good thing you caught it though. That squirrel looks like the juiciest piece of prey that we've caught in a while. You really did a great job, Poppyfrost."

"Let's just continue on our way, shall we?" Poppyfrost asked. When the two toms nodded, she buried her catch and they continued on their hunt.

Bramblestar scanned the forest for some more prey, and then he spotted a starling trying to pull a worm out of the ground. He pressed his body against the ground and slowly stalked towards it. When he was close enough, he leaped onto the bird and quickly killed it. It wasn't as juicy as Poppyfrost's squirrel, but it was definitely one of the biggest birds the Clans had managed to catch in some time.

In the end, the patrol had managed to catch a squirrel, a starling, and three mice. "Great job, you two. This was a very successful hunting patrol, and I think our success means that the prey is slowly starting to come back."

Emberfoot nodded, but couldn't say anything due to the three mice he was holding.

When they reached their camp, the last rays of sunlight were fading from the sky. They all sat their catches onto the small fresh kill pile, and then split up to go share tongues with their other Clan mates.

Bramblestar sat down next to the giant boulder that was propping the fallen tree up, and he began to wash his tabby fur. When he looked up, he saw Kestrelflight heading his way.

"Hello," he purred.

"Greetings, Bramblestar." Kestrelflight dipped his head. "There's something I need to address. It's about Whitetail. I'm afraid that she will not be able to accompany you to the Moonpool."

Bramblestar's eyes widened. "What? Why not? She's not hurt, is she?"

"She's just extremely sore from her trip with you, and I'm worried that trekking all the way to the Moonpool would just be too much for her." Kestrelflight glanced around and lowered his voice before quietly adding, "She's all WindClan has at the moment, and I just can't let anything happen to her. So because of that, I'll be going with you."

Bramblestar let out a sigh of relief. "That sounds good. Thank you."

Kestrelflight nodded and padded off.

As Bramblestar watched him go, he glanced up at the sky. For the most part, tree branches and leaves blocked his view, but here and there he caught glimpses of stars beginning to shine in the sky. _I wonder what the Moonpool journey will have in store for us._

* * *

**58 REVIEWS?! Thank you so much every one! It really means the world to me, and I always look forward to hearing from all of you. Your feedback really does make me smile. Also, I'm sorry for another short-filler chapter. I promise that the next chapter will be very exciting, and you may finally figure out who the she-cat in the prologue is if you don't already know. I have a couple of questions for you: Do you think this story is progressing too fast, or do you think it's going the right speed? Also, do you think Rowanstar will attend? **

**Thanks for reading!**


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